I'm almost caught up (Episode 9 had me gritting my teeth) and I'm really, really appreciating the care and effort Matthew and his players are putting forth. The world building is fully formed, and the top-line story is really nice. Well paced and engaging, with a nice balance of action and description.
But this podcast really comes alive in characterization. Each character starts the story well formed, and time is spent in both interactional character building and in vignettes from the characters that demonstrate their backstory and motivations. This latter is, from the podcasts I've heard, pretty rare and it's very refreshing. We feel as if we're joining lives already in progress and I found myself instantly hooked. Very excited to see where this is going, and I dearly hope everyone survives!