Dispatch episodes 5 & 6 impressions — We all pay for who we were

So far, Dispatch has felt like it's been holding itself back in a way. It mostly shoved its ensemble cast of villainous heroes to the side in favor of focusing on a love triangle that really only works one way. It’s more of a love straight line with a dangling Invisigal trying to sexually harass her way in. Episodes 5 & 6 finally give us some quality time with the rest of the Z-Team outside of work, and it's a blast. It took longer than it probably should have, but I’m finally sold on all of these characters.

Episode 5 begins with a brief workout montage, with Robert trying to get his strength back as the Mecha Man suit is nearing completion. The scene is intercut with memories of one of Robert’s previous fights in a burning building. It’s used to great effect as, when Mecha Man is being crushed under some rubble, Robert is struggling to bench press some weights and is almost crushed. Thankfully, Flambae arrives, telling him he’s supposed to have a spotter when lifting weights. It’s easy to tell what they’re trying to get at with this scene, that Robert is stronger and more effective with the Z-Team than without, but it’s very sweet nonetheless as this is really the first time we’ve seen Flambae be genuine and caring. He’s still snarky and rude, and you can respond in kind, but I chose to actually thank him for his help instead which led to some nice interactions. This sets the tone for the rest of the episode and the next, with Robert and the Z Team opening up to each other and becoming more effective heroes as a result - for the most part. 

After a short conversation with Blonde Blazer, we’re thrust back into dispatching. I’ve been carving out a niche for each of my heroes, so it’s been a lot of fun to figure out which of them is best suited for each mission. Prism is all in on Charisma (I got her to the max of 10 by episode 6), while Golem is all about Vigor. I could probably send just one of them on a mission and succeed, but it's much better to spread the exp out so I can further increase their stats. I added Waterboy to my team in the last batch of episodes, and he really needed to be a tag along as his stats were universally awful. By sending him alongside other heroes who already had it covered, he gained so much experience that I maxed out his Intellect very quickly and he instantly became one of my team’s most useful members. Once again, we’re playing to the theme of being stronger together.

Which leads into this episode’s key scene and probably the best in the game so far. After work, the Z-Team invites Robert to get drinks with them at a villain bar. The night starts off cold and a bit standoff-ish, with the team each separating into small cliques, none of which have room for Robert, but when a bar fight starts they all come together to kick some ass and get tacos afterwards. It’s absurdly violent in a way that’ll either be hilarious or gross you out, and uses flashy edits to intercut between completing quick time events at the taco place or in the bar fight will cut back to the other scene. They really went all out here with some fun needle drops too.

Once we’re through with all the chaos and chat with the team, they have a question for Robert: who was he before SDN? Here, you have a choice I really didn’t think we’d get until closer to the end, to reveal yourself as Mecha Man or continue to hide it. For me, the choice was easy, I want to be open and honest with the Z-Team (they’d probably figure it out later anyway), though this did cause a bit of conflict I won’t spoil here.

On to episode 6, after the intro and a few choices, we’re back to dispatching, though down a team member for today as they’re out “sick”. The city experiences a blackout during this shift, so you’ve got to divide and conquer a lot more than usual as jobs will be popping up more frequently and have shorter timers. We were also introduced to a new, instant fail mechanic where if your team’s stats exceed a certain threshold it will guarantee failure. This is where specializing each hero came back to bite me a bit, as the heroes I would think to send on these missions would now be a bit too effective. Thankfully I had been spreading out Invisigal’s stats to make her the team’s all-rounder, especially since she gets a bonus when working alone, so she got a lot of play here. 

After work, we’re hanging with the Z-Team as well as Chase, Blonde Blazer, and Royd at an impromptu house party as everyone barges into Robert’s apartment. It’s another fun way to get to know these characters, though it's clear Robert is still distancing himself from everyone. 

Invisigal somehow gets even less likable this episode, as every other word out of her mouth is some sort of sex joke. Like I said in the last preview, I don’t mind them in general - Flambae’s song in episode 5 is hilarious - but when it’s literally all a character does it gets into creepy territory. The ending of this episode focuses a lot on her, and her decisions only served to make me like her even less, especially with the ending. I think if Invisigal was less gross and not a romanceable character she could have worked as a mentee for Robert, making mistakes that echo some Mecha Man made in the past, but as she is now I think I genuinely hate her. Even Laura Bailey’s amazing performance can’t save her.

Speaking of performances, we finally got to hear a bit more from the rest of the cast and their actors have definitely grown on me. Thot Squad as Prism is absolutely hilarious here and definitely a highlight. It feels like they’ve settled more into their characters, and I really hope they get more chances to shine in the final two episodes coming next week. I’ll see you then for our impressions and full review of the game.