By skyforbes I don’t know if I was spoiled by choices actually mattering in games Like Baldurs Gate 3, Detroit Become Human, etc but I was really hoping my choices would actually matter in Dispatch and meaningfully change the story but they don’t outside of a couple of cutscene differences. The story feels too linear in that regard and might as well should’ve been a television show.
Speaking of choices not mattering, why even give us two romance options when the story is clearly obsessed with only one of them? The writers clearly intended most players to have romanced Invisigal seeing as she had more screen time and character development than Blonde Blazer. Even when you do romance Blonde, the game still primarily focuses on Invisigal while Blonde just seems to be more of an afterthought instead of a genuinely equal route.
Shroud is another missed opportunity. I loved the idea of him, but he never felt as menacing as he should’ve, just because he barely shows up. With more screen time and a stronger presence, he could’ve been iconic and left a lasting impression on me. Same with Robert’s revenge arc since it’s hard to care deeply about his motivation when we never actually meet his father. A flashback could’ve given us a much more deep and emotional connection to the conflict instead of making it feel hollow.
The game has this habit of undercutting serious, emotional moments with goofy jokes that just don’t fit. Chase giving Robert a heartfelt pep talk only to rip a fart right after, or Robert confessing to Flambae and the others that he’s Mecha Man, and then Flambae just punches him once and then everyone’s basically cool with it. I get that it’s a comedy but it feels so jarring and ill timed sometimes that it undercuts the drama.
And while this is purely based on subjectivity, I barely found any of the jokes funny outside of a few. Most of the time is just them constantly dropping curse words or dick jokes like the shock value alone is supposed to be the punchline. A few lines landed, but overall it felt more immature than clever.
I never really grew attached to the Z-Team as they’re not given much to do outside of gameplay segments and the final fight scene. And I feel like that could be attributed to the game’s short runtime for its episodes which makes it feel like bite sized shorts.
I don’t think Dispatch is a bad game. It has its memorable moments and good ideas. But I don’t think it’s anything special, and it’s definitely not GOTY material for me, nor do I think it surpasses Telltale’s old stuff. I’m mostly writing this because I’m genuinely surprised by how glowing the reception has been, and I haven’t really seen anyone point out the flaws that stood out to me nor even have the same feelings as me. Personally, it’s a solid 6/10.