Dispatch PS5 Review In Progress. The episodic release format in video games has been quite the novelty over the past decade. Telltale’s Tales From The Borderlands and Dontnod’s Life Is Strange both introduced us to whole video games that were sliced up into episode chunks and released in monthly episodes, and they were digestible alternatives to the sizable 8-10 hour feasts we’re usually inundated with.
Dispatch Review In Progress (PS5) – On The Call For Antiheroes
Dispatch is a new superhero episodic video game series from Adhoc Studios, where you witness the exploits and turmoil of a motley crew of dysfunctional supervillains-turned superheroes, who each look and dress like they come from all over the world from Germany to the seedy depths of hell. You got a burly bloke with a moustache who looks like Street Fighter’s Dudley, a waterboy, a Nikki Minaj lookalike, a man who somewhat resembles the late Scott Hall – so yeah, good luck trying to get all these incendiary figures to get along.
The main man of this tale is called Robert Robertson, a retired superhero who was known as Mecha Man, but now he’s training up a bunch of former supervillains, so that they can become an almighty force of superheroes who come to save the day rather than wreck the day. Robert is a dispatcher, so he takes calls from distressed citizens and sends these supervillain-turned-superheroes out to fight crime and dispense justice.
The premise of Dispatch is ripe for unruly drama, and thus it does not disappoint. Robert’s dealings with superheroes and the choices he has to make regarding his colleagues will create rifts and either build or burn bridges. You will be forced to make preferences for one character over another, and your priorities are always open to scrutiny and questioning. All in a days work for Rob Rob’s leadership, but to the player, they’ll need to juggle the pleasure and excitement of pursuing one path, while contending with the disappointment and backlash of the path you chose not to take.
An Anti-Heroic Effort
So far through the four episodes we’ve played so far, there are copious conflicts to sort through and a healthy dose of humour that makes Dispatch an inviting series to undertake. Witnessing the verbal squabbles and inner turmoil of the group is always cool to see pan out, and the diverse cast is magnetic to listen to.
As a game, Dispatch has you engage in node-based data breach puzzles in a similar manner to Deus Ex, where you’re unlocking keys and trying to access portals without running into viruses. Finding the correct pathways and connections makes for light but compulsive brain-scratchers whenever they pop up throughout each episode.
In regards to playing as a dispatcher, you can send members of your antihero posse to perform urgent tasks when callers ring up and ask for help. Each antihero has a specialty and their traits can be upgraded after they’ve undertaken successful mission requests. It’s very hands-off, but responding to successive calls wherever they sprout up on the map is something of an invigorating rush. You need to be mindful of your posse’s health and wellbeing as well, as they can get injured on the job and become inaccessible-which doesn’t bode well if you need to fulfil your antihero quotas for tasks.
So far, Dispatch is proving to be quite a treat of an episodic series. There are cool personalities, decent interactive elements to the gameplay, and it’s a refreshing change to the more po-faced episodic video game narratives out there. Check back around November 12 for the full review.