Dispatch Asks All the Right Questions About Heroism (Review)

Dispatch is a clever, funny and heartfelt look at Superheroes

I’ve been dying for some Telltale style gaming since the Batman series ended. And getting to play Dispatch let me know there still some magic in that style of gameplay. Across all eight episodes, AdHoc Studio created a world and characters that feel alive and full of depth. It’s a game that through writing, art style and execution, would be right at home on TV as a series. It’s engaging and full of great references. It’s the kind of storytelling that leaves you begging for more at the end of every episode.

I’ll be writing this totally spoiler-free story wise.

The Story of Mecha Man

The game puts you in the suit of the superhero, Mecha Man. Or as my friends and I will now be calling him, Mecha Mayne. The suit is piloted by Robert Robertson III, a third-generation hero. Think The Rock but for saving the world. His father and grandfather have both carried the Mecha Man mantle and have become known as legendary heroes even without powers. Robert has taken on this responsibility to great effect, but he also has eyes on revenge.

When the game begins, he is on the trail of Shroud. A former hero turned villain who killed his father. Shroud’s whole thing is that he sees everything coming thanks to his mask and augments. It could very quickly make a fairly corny villain, but fortunately the way he’s used makes him very formidable and a constant specter throughout the game.

An attack by Robbie leads to him getting ambushed, jumped and eventually blown up. He wakes up to a hospital bed and a destroyed suit. After he wakes up, he realizes he’s forced to retire and does so in a press conference that I chose to end in the funniest possible way. Beaten and battered, he leaves and ends up trying to stop a robbery without the suit and getting his ass beat. He’s saved by Blonde Blazer, and she offers him a job at SDN, the Superhero Dispatch Network and off we go.

The Best of Us

At the SDN, Robbie is tasked with dispatching the game’s equivalent of the Suicide Squad, called the Z-Team to various in-game events. This is cleverly depicted on a computer screen with the logos of every character traveling to each event. Outside of the dialogue choices, this is the main gameplay. You’ll also engage in some hacking minigames that are straightforward but actually get pretty stressful in late game situations.

True to Telltale form, the way you handle dialogue will affect the way characters respond to you and may even affect a few allegiances. It’s a testament to the game’s writing that the choices play out in such natural ways. By the time I got to Episode 7, I felt like everything that happened in the game was exactly how it should play out. The story plays with the various villains turned superheroes and their reactions to Robbie’s existence within the team to great effect. My favorite character right now is Prism as she just operates in her own world and will say whatever the hell she wants. But every character is dope, and the voice acting is elite on every level. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the very specific way he says “asshole”, you wouldn’t have known it was Aaron Paul playing Robbie. He’s putting on a top-notch performance.

AdHoc also makes a number of incredible references including a great Chappelle’s show callback in Episode 6. It’s not particularly obvious, but it absolutely falls under the category of “If You Know, You Know”. And then there’s the Lord of the Rings reference that was explicitly denied in game but was also very obviously a Lord of the Rings reference. It’s a great back and forth in the middle of a tense situation.

Conclusion

For all the humor and occasional dick jokes in the game, Dispatch is very emotionally resonant. It presents heroism as a choice and not a birthright and does so in a way that isn’t corny or heavy handed. Robbie’s relationships with various characters, including Chase are so beautifully played out, that it’s hard to not get caught up in the story while playing. I definitely felt something by the time the game was over.

I need more of Dispatch. While AdHoc hasn’t straight up confirmed a season 2, I have to believe it’s coming. There’s so much to tie up at the end of this season. Saying that though, there isn’t a feeling of being left unfulfilled. Dispatch’s first 8 episodes are perfectly paced and ends on a satisfying note that just simply leaves you wanting more and willing to run it back immediately after to see what the other choices will bring.

Score: 10/10

Dispatch is out now on Steam and PS5/PS4. Reviewed on PS5. A code was provided by the publisher for review

-Anthony