Dispatch feels like it harkens back to the early 2010s--a time when Telltale Games was creating incredible episodic adventure games inspired by graphic novels, superhero stories were beginning to fill to the brim with quips to counterbalance the angst of the genre in the 2000s, and office-based TV comedies were everywhere. If not for snippets of gameplay, Dispatch would simply be a great TV show that I would want to tune into every week. It sometimes feels like it skews a little bit too much toward its TV show inspirations, but superb writing and voice acting maintains investment in this character-driven drama and makes for a story I want to replay.
In Dispatch, you play as Robert Robertson III, aka Mecha Man. Once a prominent hero without superpowers who had to rely on piloting a mechsuit to stop monstrous supervillains, Robert finds his life adrift after his suit is damaged beyond repair. He's approached by Blonde Blazer, a famous hero-for-hire, who offers him a job as a dispatcher--someone who directs and assists a team of paid heroes. The catch: Robert's assigned group of misfits is entirely composed of former supervillains, and their crass attitudes, explosive tempers, and lack of camaraderie make them a poor team and ill-suited for hero work.
It's a stellar set-up, made even stronger by an incredible cast of varied characters. While trailers and advertisements offered an initial impression of Robert being your typical washed-up hero defined by dour sarcasm, the character is a remarkably refreshing take for a protagonist in a superhero story. Yes, he's depressed and often uses humor to deflect, but he has an earnest desire to help people and continue being a force for good. He doesn't view the supervillains under his command as a hindrance, but a mission: He'll mentor the roster into a group of heroes even greater than he was because it's best for the city and for the former villains' lives.
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