Dispatch review: lack of choice doesn’t diminish this heroic tale

Modern superhero media has lost its way. It’s become obsessed with the idea of itself. Obsessed with spectacle and overarching plot; lore that winds its way through the years, and requires several textbooks to understand. Good, compelling superhero stories have never been about the magical artefacts, or the fabric of the universe. They are, fundamentally, about people who do extraordinary things. They’re power fantasy in disguise, relatable in their depiction of interesting, flawed heroes and how they overcome their biggest challenges.

Dispatch understands this well, and it’s why its superheroic narrative succeeds. Why it’s made such an impact on players, and inspired the growth of a passionate fandom. It understands that superheroes are people first, and in its exploration of individual heroes – and particularly protagonist Robert Robertson – it paints a compelling, relatable picture of a fantasy world so close to our own.

Robert is a grounding force in Dispatch

It’s a bold choice to begin a game with ego death, but Dispatch is a bold adventure. As it opens, we see the majesty of Robertson in his initial guise as Mecha Man, hero to all. He shines in a suit of armour, and takes on hordes of evildoers with aplomb. But, he loses. And so begins a quick fall from grace.

The Mecha Man suit is destroyed, and Robert Robertson becomes only Man.

Dispatch successfully avoids the tropes commonly associated with de-powerment, however, pushing the narrative along with a core understanding of superhero nature. Robertson is not a flawless, mighty hero. He’s just a man who wants to help – and as Dispatch makes clear, help can be delivered even with shaking hands.

Powerlessness is subjective. Given opportunity to help in other ways, Robertson leaps at the chance. And while at first, his role as a superhero manager and dispatcher is a means to obtain his power once more, it becomes another fruitful avenue to help the world. To explore what being a hero means beyond the use of his fists.

Dispatch‘s cast of former villains are a snippy, bitchy delight

Here, the game also becomes an parable about doing good, and how it has the power to transform and reform. Robertson meets his personal crew of heroes, the Z-Team, each of whom has come from a villainous background, using their skills with nefarious intent.

Depending on dialogue options and gameplay choices, you may grow their character, and help them to realise the value of empathy, kindness, and trust.

Dispatch‘s hero management gameplay is essentially a way to ‘gamify’ a story that could be mistaken for an animated series, it does also serve to elevate the narratives of the game’s main heroes. In little asides and biting quips, you learn more about the ways that heroism presents itself, and how friendship and teamwork can save.

Even with the layers of sarcasm, the failures, the rudeness, Dispatch‘s crew of underdogs are united by a desire to be better, to help people. From divergent paths, they eventually coalesce around a shared goal, and it’s Robertson who shapes their growth.

With experience as a celebrated hero, and then as a regular civilian, he has a unique perspective on the ground. He understands that even the smallest of beings – like Beef, his chunky and adorable dog – have value. Dispatch is about this value becoming shared. How the smallest touches of kindness can inspire new priorities, and new understanding about the beauty of the world.

It’s also about punching radioactive dicks and starting bar fights, but the world is a diverse place, after all.

Even a lack of distinct choices can’t shudder the light of Dispatch

Playing through Dispatch, you’re consistently presented with choices about what to say, and where to go – and while, on second playthrough, you realise the options have very little variation, they do provide a sense of agency and ownership. They present you with what all good superhero media should offer: a chance to see yourself in Robert Robertson, and the good deeds he undertakes.

It makes every choice feel that much more meaningful, even when the game remains on-rails.

It’s clear that AdHoc Studio had a clear vision for what Dispatch was, and how its characters would evolve. Some choices are relatively binary. At one point, you must kick one of two heroes off the Z-Team, and their absence doesn’t have a transformative impact on the narrative – they simply slot into each other’s roles, based on your choice.

Many of the dialogue options don’t have alternative outcomes.

But it’s hard to criticise this lack of variability, given the strength of the narrative that buoys Dispatch forward. It gets its hooks in early, and rewards players with a human-focussed story that charts grief, love, and acceptance. It’s about flawed characters learning to get along, and to harness their shared strength.

It’s about why everyone deserves saving, and how we all have the power to save.

It understands that humans are at the heart of superheroics, and that a magical suit is less important than a desire to uplift everyone around you, and to help them realise their potential. To see past their flaws, to see what they can become. To save the world, one person at a time.

There really isn’t a greater or more important power fantasy than that.

Discover more screen, games & arts news and reviews on ScreenHub and ArtsHub. Sign up for our free ArtsHub and ScreenHub newsletters.