Image Credits: Copyright Owned by AdHoc Studio via Wikipedia
After two of Dispatch’s biggest episodes, on Nov. 5, AdHoc Studio released Episodes Five and Six of the newest internet sensation, Dispatch. As the last four episodes have shown, Dispatch is a one-of-a-kind game with some of the highest quality writing, animation, voice acting and heart that I can not wait to further explore.
Episode Five: “Team Building”
Episode Five opens with Robert Robertson working out in the gym, as it flashbacks to a past fight with Flambae when he was Mecha Man. There had been some small mentions that Mecha Man and Flambae had fought, but getting the chance to actually see it was very cinematic. Also, by pairing that flashback with clips of Robert struggling in the gym, you can really feel how much Robert misses being the strong hero.
We then get right back into the dispatching gameplay we’ve known to love. In this dispatch though, we see a group known as the Red Ring causing some trouble for the Z Team. There is also a small scene in the break room with Robert, Prism and Malevola, where we find out the Z Team is starting to become more and more interested in who Robert really is.
Since the first episode, Shroud really hasn’t played as important of a character as I thought he’d be, not that that is necessarily a bad thing though. If anything, I liked how Dispatch constantly subverts expectations, and turned this superhero game into more of a workplace comedy.
After a small scene in the garage with Chase, we then make our way back to dispatching, this time though, the game throws a different wrench in the routine. A citywide power outage disrupts everything, and chaos unfolds from so many distress calls. As Robert, we have three different sections of the city to hack to get the power back on. This is where the new light bulb/energy moving section of the cube puzzles comes into play, which definitely makes the puzzles more difficult while remaining simple, enjoyable and intense. This is the most stressed out I have ever been dispatching, and it was still relentlessly entertaining start to finish. Dispatch is constantly throwing new challenges your way that really require you to think far beyond the surface level, and I really respect Dispatch for taking the time to make it this polished.
After power has been restored to the city and the day is done, the Z Team invites Robert out to the bar, to which he eventually says yes. We then cut to Robert arriving at the supervillain bar known as The Sardine, where Golem sadly has to stay outside because he is too big. Robert is able to make his way in though, after Invisigal hilariously tells the unsure bouncer that he’s “the biggest perv west of the LA river.”
We walk into the bar and right from the get-go it very much feels like a villain bar. With not-so-friendly-looking faces everywhere you look, accompanied by loud music, it is exactly what I expected. Robert then meets Invisigal at the bar, and if you had previously gone on a date with her then she talks about this being their second date, with their third potentially being for dinner. If you had dinner with Blonde Blazer instead, then right when you get to the bar, she leaves to get a table.
After grabbing drinks for the Z Team, Robert sits with Invisigal and they discuss how everyone thinks Robert is a “narc,” to which he actually is since he isn’t a villain. Invisigal tells Robert that everyone can tell he used to be a hero, so he might as well tell the rest of the team who he really is. More flashbacks of Mecha Man versus Flambae ensue, as we find out Robert is the reason Flambae is missing two of his fingers.
As Invisigal and Robert are talking though, a villain named Armstrong, who hilariously keeps calling Robert a “b**ch,” throws Robert across the room for looking like a hero. This starts a completely crazy bar fight between the Z Team and all the other patrons, who are actually Red Ring members. There is so much about this scene to love, whether it be Punch Up specifically punching all the villains in the crotch, Prism singing over the whole fight or seeing each character use their powers in person, it was all so much fun. I do feel it was a missed opportunity to not add more QTEs in this fight though, like how the first episode did with Toxic. Without it, this sequence just felt like I was watching a show rather than playing an interactive game, despite it being really entertaining.
After the fight, the whole Z Team makes their way to get Mexican fast food and eat it outside as they recover. Eventually, the Z Team confronts Robert and finally asks him who he actually is. If you choose not to reveal your Mecha Man, then Robert actually gives a powerful speech on finally having a fresh start and to leave the past behind. While everyone is accepting of Robert’s response, the only one who has a problem is Flambae, scarily enough. Robert then re-introduces himself so that everyone else may do so as well, for a fresh start, and it’s here we hear everyone’s actual names.
If you reveal your identity as Mecha Man, then Flambae attempts to kill Robert but is stopped by Golem. The whole team then laughs at Flambae as he proceeds to fly away. The whole team, now trusting Robert more, tells them their real names as well.
Either way you choose, the episode then ends with a hopeful tomorrow, as the bond between the Z Team has grown stronger.
While I did really enjoy Episode Five, it definitely felt like the balance of dispatching to QTEs was off. Before, the QTEs were put in between the dispatching, but this one just frontloaded all of the dispatching and put most of the QTEs in the other half. Sadly though, the other half felt more like watching a show than it did like playing. With only eight episodes, I wish this one had moved the plot a little more, but it was still wildly entertaining.
Episode Six: “Moving Parts”
We start off this episode excitedly with Robert trying on the new prototype Mecha man suit. If you revealed Robert’s Mecha Man identity last episode then the whole team (besides Flambae) is here to watch, but if not, then it’s just Royd, Chase and Invisigal watching, but things quickly turn for the worse. The prototype astro-pulse that runs the suit causes the whole suit to break down and explode, in what is a chaotic and scary way to open episode six.
After the title card, we see Robert is miraculously pretty unscathed, even if he’s been unconscious for the last 15 hours. While Royd is very disappointed in himself, Chase decides now is the time to confront Robert about his connection to Invisigal, and how you’ve chosen to play the last few episodes definitely changes how you feel. If you chose to date Blonde Blazer then this moment really doesn’t mean too much to you, but if you chose to date Invisigal, then Chase really attempts to make you feel guilty for that. He doesn’t trust her, and is worried about what will happen to Robert if he tries to be with her or help her. The relationship between Chase and Invisigal has been filled with hate this whole game, and we see that more later in this episode.
Robert feels good enough to get back to work though, as we see Blonde Blazer has taken his dispatching spot. After being scared, Blonde Blazer potentially hugs him, depending on who you are dating, and lets you take back your spot. She then strangely says she’s excited for tonight, confusing both Robert and the player.
After that, we get back to regular dispatching that is as consistent as normal. This time though, the hacking portion has more of the light bulb/energy puzzles that we saw last episodes. And will play a bigger role later.
After the day is done, and Robert lies on the floor of his empty apartment talking to Beef, one of Malevola’s portals opens up, and Royd, Invisigal and Malevola appear. After making fun of Robert for being in his underwear, Invisigal tells him that they’re throwing him a housewarming party, and that more people are coming. While Robert is shocked, he is even more shocked hearing that Royd and Invisigal were able to track the energy readings of the explosion this morning and think they found the actual astro-pulse. In celebration, they decide to make a plan, but more importantly, party.
In a montage, we see everyone from the Z Team including Blonde Blazer and Chase, arrive at the party each bringing furniture or hilariously just a different kind of lamp. As they celebrate, they drink, dance and party in a lighthearted way we really haven’t seen before. Eventually, either Invisigal pulls you in to dance with her, causing Chase to get angry, or Blonde Blazer pulls you into dance, and Invisigal looks over in jealousy.
All good things can’t last though, as they find out the warehouse holding the astro-pulse is covered with turrets. Invisigal stupidly says she would go, but Blonde Blazer not only tells her this operation isn’t happening tonight, but that this is for a higher-level team to deal with. Invisigal very quickly gets upset, but no matter what Robert thinks, Blonde Blazer makes it clear she won’t let it happen.
After Invisigal continues to argue though, a drunk Chase steps in to belittle Invisigal. While Blonde Blazer and Robert attempt to shut him up, Chase continues to insult and finally tells everyone how he really feels about her. Invisigal then goes invisible and leaves the party, but not without punching Chase first, ending the party for good.
While obviously Chase took things way too far here, nothing hurt worse than hearing him say to Invisigal: “You are no f**king hero!” This one line attempts to erase all of the hard work Robert has put into making Invisigal feel like a hero and allowing her to start fresh, even when she thought it was hopeless. I hoped more than anything this wouldn’t turn her back into a villain, but if anything, the opposite happens.
Chase eventually comes back to apologize, and he and Robert actually have a really heartwarming conversation as they discuss what it actually means to be a hero. Chase tries to explain that Robert has good in him and that is what makes him a hero, while Invisigal is a selfish thief. Even Robert explains the hypocrisy of that though, as he reminds Chase all of the time he stole things for Robert, and you can tell Chase feels bad for what he said. It is clear Chase misses helping people and using his powers, and is more jealous of Invisigal than anything. His pain is very understandable, and even if he lashes out and curses every other word, I still found sympathy for him.
As they walk back into the apartment though, Robert looks at his computer to see Invisigal is at the site where the astro pulse is supposed to be. The bad news though is that pretty much every other super villain is there to find it as well. Despite everything Chase told her, she wants more than anything to be a hero, no matter the risks. Though Robert tells her to leave, Invisigal is dead-set on staying, so it becomes our job to make sure she gets out alive.
As Invisigal fights on the ground, we as Robert must hack around to help her reach the astro pulse. This is one of, if not the, most exciting moments of the game as we are forced to intensely hack under short amounts of time. At first, I thought the cube puzzles weren’t really that interesting, but they are used very effectively here with both the anti-virus circles and the more difficult energy puzzles that up the stress tenfold.
Eventually, Invisigal makes it to the astro-pulse, but before she can hold onto it for long, the long-awaited Shroud sneaks behind her. I have been desperately waiting for Shroud to reappear since the first episode, so even seeing him under these circumstances is super exciting. He pushes Invisigal to the ground and throws a gas bomb that slowly knocks her out as he steals the pulse for himself. As Invisigal lies on the ground without her inhaler, it seems she might die there. But out of nowhere, Robert looks to his right and sees Chase in a running stance as he somberly says, “Keep up.” Chase, using his super speed, then runs with a smile on his face as he takes Invisigal and carries her away to a park. As Chase hands her the inhaler, he walks off knowing these are his final moments, and sadly passes away. Robert immediately grabs his stuff to go to them, as Invisgal cries over his body.
This was not only the most shocking ending to an episode, but also the saddest too. Though they were clearly setting up something between Chase and Invisigal, I never thought this would happen for a second. I can only imagine how this will mess with the team next episode, as the game nears its highly anticipated ending.
Overall:
While these definitely aren’t the two best episodes of the game so far, that doesn’t mean they’re bad by any means. I just think a little too much was put into the actual dispatching than the story, which was surprising to me this late into the game. I also was expecting more from the romance plot that really picked up in Episode 4, but we only really got small glimpses of that. Like I said though, these episodes were far from bad. They were still full of hilarious and serious character moments with genuine dialogue all over, but for as fun as the dispatching is, I just wish they were more centered around the story QTE aspects of the game. As the finale approaches so soon, I already know I am going to miss this incredible experience that AdHoc Studio has put so much love into.
Episode Five: “Team Building” – 6/10
Episode Six: “Moving Parts” – 7/10
Samuel J. Beadle is a second-year English major. SB1033446@wcupa.edu