Dispatch is a great adventure game that effectively uses and plays with superhero tropes to craft a memorable narrative, led by excellent performances. A couple of the choice-based outcomes are a bit confusing, but that isn’t enough to derail this strong title from hitting most of its targets.
Credit: AdHoc Studios
Dispatch
Developer: AdHoc Studio
Price: $30
Platforms: PlayStation 5 and PC (reviewed)
MonsterVine was supplied with a PC code for review.
Though it was years ago now, I covered pretty much every TellTale game as it came out here on MonsterVine. I love playing episodic adventure games now and then, and superheroes have always been one of my favorite things, so when I saw that former TellTale devs were making a game that combined the two, I was interested. What I got was even more enjoyable than I expected, though it had a couple of minor stumbling points.
One thing that Dispatch does quite well is solve one issue TellTale titles could sometimes have: not knowing how to fill interactive sections between narrative choices. Rather than primarily walking around, half of the gameplay in Dispatch has you, fittingly, dispatching super individuals to various emergencies. You’re like a superhero 911 operator, as you have to decide which characters to send to which calls on a map based on their stats. It’s a very fun system that keeps you on your toes with each session.
Credit: AdHoc Studios
Admittedly, the fact that a lot of your success/failure in dispatch sections hinges on luck isn’t my favorite thing. Though you can increase your chances of success by assigning characters with properly suited stats to a task, most of the time, you’re not going to have a 100% success rate. I found, especially in the last chapter, that I was failing 50%+ of tasks seemingly by pure bad luck, which frustrated me. A lot of the time, it isn’t a major deal, but the last chapter feels weightier and puts a lot more on your plate, so I was bummed by the way this tension was replaced by irritation at times.
Back to the highlights, the story of Dispatch is mostly quite excellent. The main character, Robert, serves as both a suitable audience surrogate and his own enthralling hero. Though you get to decide how he acts in a lot of ways, all of the options feel in-character for the person established at the beginning. His relationships with the rest of the cast can be very engaging, and I found myself constantly starting the next episode as fast as possible to see what would happen to Robert and the crew next.
Credit: AdHoc Studios
Dispatch’s entire story of learning to help people change for the better and being a hero, even without a mechanical suit or powers, is both moving and frequently funny. There’s a grounded feeling to the way many characters talk and act, which helps make the “workplace comedy” aspect of the game ring true to actual friend/co-worker groups in many ways. The cast is memorable, the overarching tale of revenge and redemption is largely well-executed, and the choices are surprisingly impactful.
“This is one of the most likable casts in any adventure game from recent memory, and a lot of that comes down to the excellent vocal portrayals.“
These choices also significantly affect the overall narrative of Dispatch. In an early episode, you have to cut a member from the Z-team (your squad of reforming criminals that you manage). You’re given two choices, with both choices completely altering who will be on your team for the rest of the episodes. The story changes in the same way, with the rest of the team reacting in different ways to your choice. There are a few moments like this that have a significant effect on the plot going forward, which certainly stand out from some of TellTale’s later and more streamlined titles.
Credit: AdHoc Studios
I was a bit confused towards the end about how some outcomes were reached, though most of them fit with the choices I made throughout the game. I appreciated most of the consequences that my decisions had, even when they were tough or bitter, but one particular character’s choice in the ending did not entirely line up with my actions. I don’t mind a bittersweet conclusion in the slightest – it just didn’t feel wholly earned given the decision I made.
Additionally, though I think the romance options in Dispatch are largely natural, I got the feeling that the game itself really wants you to date one specific character, who I wasn’t interested in, leading to some peculiar moments where I essentially had to fend them off while trying to date the other character. On a related note, I have no clue how the main game’s main company is not buried in HR violations, though this is more of a random observation than a critique – this is a superhero workplace comedy, so I can accept the characters acting raunchy and wild for the sake of laughs.
Credit: AdHoc Studios
The performances in Dispatch are top-notch, with Aaron Paul and Jeffrey Wright (unexpectedly) stealing the show. That’s not to say that any of the other characters are less deserving of praise – every single primary and supporting character felt full of life and perfectly unique. This is one of the most likable casts in any adventure game from recent memory, and a lot of that comes down to the excellent vocal portrayals. Of course, the stellar designs for the cast also help in this regard.
The art style is generally pleasant to look at, combining a recognizably comic-book-esque aesthetic with the feel of a prestige animated series. The hero and villain designs are wonderful to look at and don’t come off as too “generic,” though many could still fit into the worlds of both Marvel and DC (and even Image) if needed.
The Final Word
Dispatch is a fantastic take on the familiar adventure game formula that anyone who digs superheroes will find plenty to love. It has a couple of small things that could be improved upon, but it’s an overall refreshing adventure.
MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
