Dispatch is an all-new superhero game that stands out from every other superhero game released in the past. This game features a unique genre that combines comedy and adventure, which feels like watching The Office meets Invincible. Full of unexpected twists and turns, this game has made a great impression and some not-so-great ones.
Dispatch is the first game by AdHoc Studios, and it is an episodic game where the player’s choices affect the story via the use of dialogue trees in conversations with other characters. The gameplay largely consists of navigating superhero teams across the Superhero Dispatch Network or also known as SDN, to crimes and events where players must decide which heroes are best suited to solve or participate in them. Activities like stopping thefts, putting out fires, being a mayor’s bodyguard, and more are what players must overcome within a certain time limit. Plus, you will be doing a lot of hacking in this game to help your heroes get through some of the most hellish activities, like cleaning the toilet or getting the security system of a donut shop.
Each episode of Dispatch runs about 30 to 40 minutes of content that includes not only the story but also gameplay. Though the content and story of this game are good, I am quite disappointed at how short the episodes are. I know this is AdHoc Studios’ first game to be officially released and all, but they could have done better in making content for this game longer, as there are many ways to explore the world of Dispatch. An example would be interacting with other characters that would be definitely useful to the story, or exploring your headquarters to see what other places you can find that are considered to be relevant to the story.
In the first episode, the story shows who and what Mecha Man can do inside and outside of the suit. And fairly enough, we can see what type of character he can be as well. Choices are important, and fairly enough, whatever you do will have some type of consequence or will have an impact on the whole story. No matter the choice you make, Mecha Man is out of nowhere beaten up by his worst enemy, Shroud, and his goons. Though hope seems lost, and his main suit wrecked, a chance for redemption was given to him by a friend, and he is introduced to SDN.
First episodes of a narrative story are important, and roughly enough, this bodes well as we can see how experienced the developers considering that this team of developers used to work for Telltale and other famous gaming studios like Ubisoft, and more. An introduction to the main protagonist is critical. In Dispatch, it was intriguing to see how we can interact as a Mecha Man and experience fun, quick events in the cinematic scenes.
The second episode was quite normal at first but it gives us a full rendition of the main focus of the game and that is dispatching heroes. A good and lengthy tutorial on how the main gameplay was shown and we can use what rewards are given. There is an upgrade menu section in this game where players can increase the stats of each hero depending on whether they are successful in completing their task properly or more. This takes the gameplay of Dispatch to a different level as critical thinking and proper management of one’s squad will be important now and I really love to have a challenge into my plate.
To summarize, the first two episodes of Dispatch are amazing, though I really hope that they would make the story and gameplay length a bit longer, as it feels a bit short. Would I recommend this game to others? Of course, I would, as it has a dysfunctional hero drama story mixed with some wild comedy that is definitely enjoyable to both watch and experience at the same time. I highly recommend trying out the demo first to see how different this game from your usual form of entertainment.
