Let's get something out of the way right off the bat: I absolutely love Dispatch. I liked many of Telltale's narrative-focused games in their heyday, even the less-appreciated ones like Game of Thrones and Guardians of the Galaxy, but Dispatch is something much more special. Granted, it's also made by a different development studio, but one that's headed up by a crew of former Telltale devs, so the comparison is both inevitable and also very apt.
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Dispatch is similar to those games in a lot of ways, from its dialogue choices set to a fast-moving timer to its QTEs to the little pop-up in the corner of the screen that says, "Person will remember that." It's also very different, from the stunning animations that make it look like you're playing an animated film to the strategy-lite gameplay motif where you literally dispatch (get it?) A team of superheroes to handle issues throughout Los Angeles. There are also some soul-crushing choices you have to make throughout Dispatch that will shape how the rest of the game plays out. There are a lot of them, of varying degrees of significance, but these next choices were the ones that kept me up at night, wondering if I'd made a mistake.
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Throw Water Or Alcohol At Flambae
One Option Is A Lot More... Bombastic
In terms of narrative impact, this decision doesn't really change much beyond a couple of dialogue interactions and Flambae's appearance during the rest of the game. He comes up behind Robert in a bar talking smack. Robert, finally sick of it, decides to toss one of his two drinks at Flambae. One is a glass of water, the other is Blonde Blazer's glass of pure alcohol (her powers make it difficult for her to get drunk).
One option, the water, will put out Flambae's flames, which seems like the most direct solution to extinguish (heh) the situation. The other... Well, what does alcohol do when you light it on fire? Setting Flambae more on fire turns out not to be a big deal (he's kind of used to it), but when I realized he was one of the members of Z-Team in Episode 2, I definitely wondered if I should have taken the less extreme route and just doused him.
Kiss Blonde Blazer Or Let The Moment Pass
The Beginning Of An Office Romance?
If you're planning to pursue Blonde Blazer as Robert's choice of romance, this choice is a big one. While it's not a huge deal if you try to kiss her either way, who likes sending mixed messages? Well, Blazer does, obviously, since trying to kiss her gets Robert rebuffed (this time around). It turns out Blonde Blazer is already in a relationship. Bummer.
The brilliance of this narrative choice is that if you're trying to romance Blonde Blazer (like I was), you'll obviously take the option to kiss her. However, doing so and subsequently getting rejected made me immediately worried that I'd screwed up not just Robert's chances with Blazer, but of being taken seriously at his new job. Everything works out in the end (and it's actually the better choice if you're pursuing Blazer), but I was definitely second-guessing myself during Episode 1's credits.
Tell Invisigal To Disarm Granny Or Take Out The Thief
Did I Screw Up Already?
During Robert's first shift, Invisigal confirms that she is... A bit of a handful. She's not the best at following orders, works better when tackling missions on her own, and is generally the antithesis of a "team player." So, of course, she's the one who gets wrapped up in Z-Team's first showdown with a true supervillain: Lightningstruck. Imagine the Spider-Man villain Shocker if he mugged Mega Man, like, an hour ago, and that's basically this dude.
The mission starts as a B&E investigation at a local donut shop. Invisigal arrives to find the shop's owner, an old man referred to as "Granny," unconscious on the floor. Once she confirms that he's alive, Invisigal checks to see if the attacker is still on the scene. He is. Lightningstruck emerges from the kitchen around back (what was he doing in there?), and Invisigal clocks him with a tray of donuts, knocking off one of his blasters. During their tussle, Granny gets hold of the loose blaster and initiates a showdown with Lightningstruck. You can tell Invisigal to either Disarm Granny (because he might blow his arm off) or focus on the villain. It turns out, whatever Robert tells her to do, Invisigal will do the opposite, and the mission will go awry either way. However, in the moment, I was sure I made the wrong call, costing the mission and losing Invisigal's trust in the process.
Cut Sonar Or Coupe From The Team
Did I Just Kickstart A Supervillain Origin Story?
The big decision you have to make in Episode 3 is which team member to cut loose. Blonde Blazer has decided that it's necessary, and she's not wrong. The team is unruly, they don't listen to orders, and they fight with each other — and Robert — all the time. Cutting one of them will make it clear that they don't have unlimited leeway to screw up. There are expectations to be met if they want to be heroes, and if they don't meet those expectations, they don't belong on the team.
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For most of the episode, the obvious choice is Invisigal. She's the lowest-scoring hero on the team, and as previously stated, she doesn't work well with others. However, a last-second apprehension of Lightningstruck bumps her up the charts, leaving Coupe and Sonar tied for last place. Personally, I picked Coupe, and I had the same feeling that Blazer verbalized after making the decision ("They still seem a bit... Evil, don't they?"). However, the trade-off is clear: Coupe may have a more dangerous disposition, but cutting her will undoubtedly send her right back to Shroud and make her into an enemy. Sonar, on the other hand, is a bit oafish, so while he might have more potential as a hero, he'll also make a less dangerous villain. Whichever you pick, they will indeed become a villain, and you'll fight them in Episode 8. Both fights are awesome, but Sonar's is on another level. If you don't have strong feelings either way, I'd say cut Sonar loose, just for the spectacle to come.
Recruit Waterboy Or Phenomaman
Do I Want To Work With Depressed Superman Or The Lamest Guy Ever?
In a reversal of Episode 3, in Episode 4, Robert gets to recruit a new team member to replace whoever he previously cut. The options are... Not great. On the one hand, there's Phenomaman. He's essentially Superman: he's an alien, has super strength, the ability to fly, laser vision, the works. He's also deeply depressed because Blonde Blazer just broke up with him. The guy is literally just wandering down the highway and letting cars hit him.
The other option is Waterboy, the office janitor. His power is that he can shoot water out of his mouth, and he's always wet. He's also the most awkward man in existence. Phenomaman would obviously be the more valuable team member when he's at his best, but in his current state, do you really want to deal with that? Meanwhile, Waterboy is virtually useless, but at least he's not volatile. I went with Waterboy, and Robert perfectly expresses why later on: "He's the only person who actually deserves to be here." Waterboy isn't a former villain like the rest of Z-Team, and while he's not exactly competent, he wants to be a hero, to help people, and to do good. Whichever one you pick, they'll be on your team for the rest of the game, and I, for one, was often asking myself if I should have picked the actual superhero rather than the work-in-progress.
Go To Dinner With Blazer Or A Movie With Invisigal
Here Goes Nothing
The first major romance-based choice in Dispatch comes at the end of Episode 4. Robert is invited on a pair of dates ("What is going on today?" He asks himself earlier on); one, a movie with Invisigal, the other, dinner with Blonde Blazer. Whichever you pick will set you down the path of that romance, and you can't really reverse course after this without restarting the episode. That's especially true with Invisigal. While there are options in most of the episodes that influence Robert's relationship with Blazer, going to this movie is the only way to romance Invisigal.
Personally, I chose Blazer (as previously stated). For one, I was already into her before Invisigal even came on the scene, and second, the power dynamic between Invisigal and Robert just seemed like bad news. Invisigal is struggling with acceptance throughout Dispatch, and it seems like, while dating her boss might offer short-term relief, it could also bring everything else crashing down. While there's obviously a problematic power dynamic between Robert and Blazer as well, they started forming their relationship before Blazer hired Robert, and between the two, that option seemed just slightly more appropriate from an HR perspective.
Tell The Z-Team That Robert Is Mecha Man Or Not
Everyone's Past Lives Might Make This Awkward
The thing that makes the Z-Team so likeable, so easy to root for, but also so volatile is that they are all former villains (well, except Waterboy or Phenomaman). Everyone loves a redemption story, and there are seven of them in Dispatch. However, Robert just so happens to be a former superhero, and not a small-time one either. Mecha Man is a legend, a legacy, one passed down through three generations of "Robert Robertsons" before the Mecha Man suit was destroyed and Robert was unable to repair it. That means that odds are, Mecha Man probably busted one or several of the Z-Team members in the past.
That's what makes revealing Robert's identity to the team so agonizing. He wants them to trust him, and they're asking what his former superhero persona was because they want to trust him, too. Yet can they ever really trust him if he was literally the one who took them down in the first place? Telling the Z-Team the truth is probably the best way to go here (especially if you want the "good" ending), but predictably, one of them doesn't take the revelation very well. It turns out, Mecha Man took down Flambae not too long ago, and Flambae is none too happy about working for his former nemesis. It's possible to work things out later on, but in the moment, it sometimes feels like keeping that bit of Robert's past a secret might have been the right move.
Side With Chase Or Invisigal At The Party
This Decision Feels Heavier In The Context Of What Happens Next
After the failed reboot of the Mecha Man suit, Robert is out of commission for part of this shift. As such, after he returns, the Z-Team tries to cheer him up by throwing him a "housewarming" party. Robert, who spent all his money maintaining the Mecha Man suit, lives in squalor. He doesn't even have a bed. So Royd invites everyone to his place and tells them to "Bring a lamp," something they all take a bit too literally.
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The party goes well enough, but when Chase gets a little too drunk, his feelings about Invisigal come bubbling to the surface. Chase doesn't trust her at all. He thinks she's an irredeemable thief and a lost cause, and he screams this in her face in front of everyone. It sucks, and my instinct was to tell him to back off. The thing is, after this interaction, Invisigal takes it upon herself to try and steal the Astral Pulse — the irreplicable power source for Robert's Mecha Man suit — on her own. She gets into trouble, and Chase has to use his super speed to rescue her. The thing is, Chase's powers take a toll. He looks like an old man, but he's actually only 37. Using his powers so often has caused him to age quickly, and after using them this time, he collapses. There's no way to stop him from saving Invisigal, but telling him off at the party feels awful when it might have been one of the last things that Robert ever says to him.
Cut Or Defend Invisigal
Do The Right Thing, Or Be A Good Boss?
Invisigal's choice to go after the Astral Pulse alone, potentially costing Chase his life as a result, doesn't sit well with the majority of Z-Team. They're pissed at her, and they want Robert to cut her, and fair enough. Robert cut Coupe/Sonar for way less. How can they trust Invisigal to do her part when she's willing to risk so much on an impulsive decision?
The thing is, Invisigal made that choice to try and help Robert. He needs the Astral Pulse to get his Mecha Man suit working, and Invisigal thought she could get it for him. Not only that, but Robert actually helped her (after being pissed that she took off on her own again). Most of all, while Chase wouldn't have had to rescue her if she hadn't gone charging into danger, Invisigal also didn't ask Chase to rescue her. In fact, Chase hated her guts; even Robert wasn't expecting his friend to risk his life for Invisigal. In this context, cutting her feels wrong, but at the same time, it seems like the right thing to do when it comes to actually managing Z-Team. If Robert lets Invisigal off the hook here, how can any reprimand he hands out afterward carry any weight? The trade-off is that if you defend her, the whole team's morale drops for the final mission, while if you cut her, she won't be available to help during that same mission. It also has some serious implications for the ending.
Give Shroud The Astral Pulse, The Prototype, Or Both
It All Comes Down To This
The main antagonist of Dispatch, Shroud, doesn't show up much outside of Episode 1, but he really makes his presence felt in the last two episodes. Particularly in Episode 8, Shroud is an absolute terror, capable of predicting the Z-Team's every move and coming out ahead every single time. Even when they destroy Shroud's spider mech, he manages to get his hands on Beef, Robert's dog, and holds him ransom in exchange for the Astral Pulse.
There are three choices here. Robert can give him the Astral Pulse or the failed prototype that Royd created in his lab. Or, Robert can play the odds and give Shroud both, since they look identical, and hope that Shroud chooses the wrong one. It turns out that the outcome of this choice is mostly the same no matter what you pick: Shroud loses. However, the cutscene changes dramatically if you decide to give him both, so it's worth going that route just to see the extra content. With that said, in the moment, it sure feels like the choice will matter. Giving him the Astral Pulse seems like a non-starter, but Shroud reveals that he knows about the prototype right before this, so giving him that and trying to trick him feels like too great a risk. Giving him both is certainly the "best" option when knowing all of that, but waiting to see how that choice plays out is pure, concentrated tension.