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With the year closing out soon enough, it’s been a crazy ride, from clubhouse GOTY contenders to generational flops from billionaire companies. I’ve seen it all unfold before my very eyes, but if I told myself I’d be closing out this year of gaming by dispatching a ragtag of misfits from a character played by Aaron Paul, I’d look at you bewildered.

Dispatch is an interactive narrative title from AdHoc Studio, founded by several veterans who were previously under the umbrellas of Telltale and Ubisoft. It’s a game that strips away the goody two-shoe traits of the traditional superhero genre, where you instead work as a dispatcher at a company that enrolls supervillains into, well, «civilized» superheroes under their Phoenix Program for odd jobs and saves.

However, here at SDN, you’ll find the exact opposite—multiple HR violations as you guide the Z-team toward improvement. They’re the baddest of the bunch, and with a total of eight episodes, it’s a hilarious and charming little adventure, to say the least.

So join me, because in this review for Dispatch, I’m about to tell you how AdHoc has created its very own eccentric cast of characters and how I’m willing to do anything to stay alive until I see more of them in a (potential) latter season.

First Day In Hell

After getting his Mecha Man armor suit busted up and narrowly escaping death, a powerless Robert Robertson finds himself at his lowest point in life before being offered a job at the Superhero Dispatch Network by the fabulous Blonde Blazer.

Joining on the condition that he also gets his armor repaired, this new «desk job» at SDN isn’t going to be a walk in the park. Robert has to manage a wild group of supposed supervillain-turned-heroes called the Z-team as they carry out day-to-day tasks, ranging from averting calamities to saving neighborhood cats, just the usual for the SDN’s subscribers.

Unlike the usual Telltale format that we all love and adore, Dispatch opts for a Sunday cartoon animation style. Or, actually, if you’re familiar with the Invincible Comic/TV series, then you’ll know exactly what you’re getting yourself into with this game while getting an idea of its writing.

And the heart of it all is Robert, as you control most of his choices and actions that ultimately help shape the penultimate finale in the last episode. Relationships matter little here with everyone, but there are still a few characters that can pivot based on major choices presented in each episode.

The Z-team never makes it easy for us, as seen in our chaotic first day with them. Honestly, you can’t even tell if you’ll be able to truly fix them or tip these dastardly misfits on the positive side of the scale. Regardless, with the choices you pick, you’ll be surprised by how Robert can influence his team with his cliché words of encouragement and modesty.

Although again, while you will be notified by the familiar notification of the opposing character or NPC remembering your choices, in the grand scheme of things, that hardly matters outside the few integral characters I mentioned. But hey, don’t let me stop you from trying to snag a kiss from Blonde Blazer on your first time together. Let your crazy inside voices win.

Become The Master Dispatcher

With a total of eight episodes, the main gameplay portion of Dispatch has you working on radio comms for the Z-team over the course of two shifts. You choose and send out a single person or a team of superheroes from your roster to complete various timed jobs and missions.

Sounds easy like that, right? I mean, that’s what our jolly do-gooder Phenomaman implies to us in his encouraging commentary on the tutorial dispatch. However, there’s more here than you think, and each mission will require you to actively remember your unit’s stats as well as determine what’ll work best on each active distress call.

Every single hero has five different attributes: Combat, Vigor, Mobility, Charisma, and Intellect. And all these stats correspond to whichever job you’ll undertake in the form of the highlighted flavor text in their description. It’s a little cryptic, and I’ll understand the frustration if the game reveals a word different from what’s implied at a glance, but trust me, you’ll get the hang of it.

Each of these attributes that I mentioned has 10 different tiers, so you’ll need to be mindful of how many attribute points you need from your heroes to complete the mission, or at least, raise the odds of success in it. If you like living on the edge like me, those rare moments of RNG being on your side as you win a 50-50 on certain jobs will definitely hit your dopamine receptors.

Don’t let all of this intimidate you or imply it’s a gamble from the attribute keywords, as the game has a couple of nifty accessibility elements that can help streamline the dispatching portion. This mainly comes in the form of being able to level up your heroes, form synergy pairs of them, as well as allow them to learn new powers.

It isn’t much, but there are a couple of hidden synergy pairs in the game for a few characters. Sending them out can raise the success rate of the job, and the more often you send them together, the more you’ll be able to level up their synergy’s potency. The superhero leveling allows you to allocate upgrade points to your desired stats for a hero.

And lastly, with the power learning mechanic, you can send your favorite heroes to learn brand-new powers to Blonde Blazer’s limited-time appointments during shifts that can greatly benefit you from Golem’s overpowered clones via Spread Thin to Invisigal’s straight-up doubled XP to other teammates on jobs.

These minute gameplay aspects make the quick decision-making fundamentals of dispatching all the more rewarding. Especially since you can later mix around and try new powers that you didn’t get a chance to in secondary playthroughs.

From Outcasts To BFFs

Firstly, I must extend a huge round of applause to every single member of the voice cast crew, including the surprising inclusions of YouTuber Jacksepticeye, MoistCritikal, and the entire Critical Role gang. They were the driving force behind these characters, along with their eccentric personalities, thanks to the foundation laid by the beyond-talented writers at AdHoc.

The Z-team group consists of every HR department’s worst nightmare that you’d want nothing to do with on your first day at work. From despicable outcasts to ex-cons whom Robert himself actually put behind bars, these guys are the baddest of the bunch that Torrance has to offer. But just as they’re shown to be tough nuts to crack, you slowly warm up to them.

And by warm, you’ve got the hot-headed and savvy Flambae that Robert often butts heads with at some points. The rebellious and overzealous Invisigal, who doesn’t like playing by the book. The buddy duo of half-man, half-bat Sonar and Malevola, a hellacious demonic being that’s built with all steel and muscle for those willing to be charmed by those two things.

You’ve got the lady of few words and a former assassin, Coupe. The bedazzling yet cocky Prism. The man who’s easily able to whack down people to his size by punching them down under, Punch-Up. And lastly, you’ve got Golem, a chill mud monster who strives to live peacefully without any worries. He’s my spirit animal, honestly.

Each of these guys brings something new and flavorful whenever they’re occasionally around Robert or just engaging in playful banter with the rest of their teammates. You get the most out of them during the dispatch sections, since you get to learn more about their daily mundane tasks or outgoings, which, trust me, adds a lot to their personality over the course of each new shift.

There’s a ton of gags and backtalk spilled between each character. And speaking of spilled, it doesn’t even hold back the chaotic factor a bit either, since a few pivotal story sections let you see just how nonsensical and unhinged the Z-team can go without any restraints, well, in a barfight at least.

But that’s the beauty of it. These ragtag rascals end up becoming an endearing part of Robert. To the point where making critical decisions related to them is the most conflicting choice in the game. And that’s only second to the age-old debate you’ll trot back and forth between your friends with on romancing Invisigal or Blond Blazer, but yeah, I’ll let you go about that one yourself.

The Power Of Friendship & Tomfoolery

I believe in the thing called comedy being subjective, and that’s also why you might think Dispatch does some things more over-the-top than necessary with its plentiful swearing and witty dialogue—honestly, I think that’s fine. The game balances everything so naturally that it’s hard to pinpoint any faults, or even if the pacing may feel rushed and unanticipated.

There were a couple of moments towards the latter chapters where I felt like the game shoehorned us into a curtain call of sorts with the game’s last act against the big bad Shroud, but again, nothing too concerning to be immersion-breaking.

It isn’t meant to be a prolonged series with branching storylines, nor something where you’ll slowly get to see everyone getting their own fleshed-out arc for character development. There is a singular direction for the storytelling here, and that’s exactly why you can feasibly enjoy it without caring much about the finer details.

Some choice-based instances are simple, yet others make me question my moral compass, as if the end of the world were at hand—everything you’d want from an interactive title of this caliber. And with interactivity, just remember that the game will not shy away from that one bit, even when you’re battling against all odds with your team in a final stand.

And just when you think all hope is lost, a choice can come up where you can low-key ragebait the main villain with a back-handed action. It’s a sight to behold, one that had me raising my arms like Scorsese’s absolute cinema meme, and while also firmly believing that experiencing this game’s unadulterated writing is the best way to out your year of gaming.

Заключительные комментарии:

Dispatch is absolute cinema, literally and figuratively. AdHoc has truly crafted a delightful experience with its workplace-comedy superhero narrative, one that features a strong cast of well-written and eccentric characters, making you eager to meet them again like long-distance BFFs. The gameplay can be slightly tricky to grasp, but ultimately becomes a hyper-engaging burst of time-based unit management. Each character is so lovable at heart that you won’t even need a lengthy backstory for context. And with a writing direction that strongly emphasizes character relationships and banter with one another, it is one of the most cathartic video game experiences that I had this year, making me grateful for every minute I spent with Robert and his crew, as well as making me want to support AdHoc in any way possible in a plea for making another season on these whimsy goofballs.