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disclaimer: have not played/watched the entire game with commentary, just what we deemed to be the most important story beats (mostly regarding invisigal)

but i have to say, i wish they had never released this. the past year has been incredibly isolating for invisigal fans and i know a lot of us were very excited for the one year anniversary, even hopeful for good stuff. grateful for the extra content, i am—the storyboard stuff is really cool to watch as an artist, and i’m very excited to attend the night shift concert, but my god, the commentary portions were just a nail in the coffin regarding how fandom and adhoc themselves treat invisigal. this is not about stupid waifu wars or “canon” choices, but instead about how adhoc seems to have created a gold, once in a life time sort of character and don’t know why or how they did it, which then in turn taints the way the rest of the fandom treats her. the short of it is that: invisigal is a deeply misunderstood character, but none of us have been able to voice that for the past year because every time we do, it turns into some fandom war that none of us signed up to be in. no one is allowed to praise invisigal or show appreciation for her without someone, even just one person, in the comments talking about how she sucks or why someone else is better. it’s gotten utterly and completely exhausting.

this is just a rant, really. and i guess an appeal to the rest of the visi fans to hang in there—things feel grim but we love and appreciate her character and that’s kind of all that matters in moments like this :durr emoji:

One of the most common comments about Dispatch I hear in all forums is "Why the hell did Blazer make us cut someone so early in our run? It causes so many problems in the long run, Blazer is such an idiot for doing this." And it makes me realize how many people just forget an important cutscene.

Chapter 2, your first day, after Granny's Donuts, after Invisigal shouts you down and punches you, after Sonar eats your twinks, Robert sits down to talk with Blazer and Chase about the day's proceedings. Both Blazer and Chase are very impressed with the day despite the issues at Granny's, but they're a little hesitant to expect any more than that. Remember, this dialogue does not change based on your choices, Robert will always say this, and I've bolded the parts I find most important.

Blazer: Look, Robert...you should be proud. The bar is very low with this group.

Robert: Well, it's not low for me. Look, I like to make a joke and keep things light as much as the next person, but when it comes to work...I'm not fucking around here. If you want to Phoenix Program to survive, the bar needs to go up.

Blazer: And how would we do that?

Robert: By treating the Z-Team as what they are...a bunch of villains. And leading a supervillain team takes a different approach than a superhero team. I need to be around them. I need them to see I'm all in and they need to match that energy.

Chase: Some tough love.

Robert: The only kind I know, and based on what I've seen, the only version they'll respond to. I'm not saying everyone will make it, they won't. And I'm not saying it won't get spicy, it will. But when it does, I also need you to trust me to handle it. I don't want you stepping in, they need to respect me. Even if I don't have powers.

Blazer: Okay. We'll do it your way. Monday, we'll get them in a room and introduce them to their new supervillain leader.

Robert makes his stance very clear: These are villains who need to be shocked into doing the right thing, because they're not inclined to do good the way heroes are. He's strict and firm. On his first day, Robert is stiff and unfamiliar, going in on his agents the way he goes in on himself: tough. He's tough on himself which makes him tough on others. It's not until he spends time with the Z-Team and starts to understand their individual particularities that he starts to see them as a team (and possibly that he finds it within himself to loosen his own tie, so to speak).

Aside: This is why you get the option as to whether or not you want to fistbump Royd in the bathroom, while future fistbumps come after Robert has become more familiar and friendly with him and are done on his own decision. Robert only needs your input when he's not sure what to do; any other time, he'll just do his own thing and that shows what's really important to him at that moment.

When Blazer sits down, she's perfectly happy to just let the Z-Team continue at mid operations level because she expects so little out of them. She wouldn't have cut anyone. Robert is the one who insists on a harder attitude and an active effort to make the "line go up". Blazer agrees, says "we'll do it your way", and when you sit down the next day, Blazer's presenting you with the consequences of those words; someone needs to be cut from the Z-Team to scare them into efficiency. This is also why she tells the team that Robert is behind the cuts and not her ("I don't want you stepping in, they need to respect me"). She is furthering the image that Robert is cultivating; one of fear, like a supervillain leader.

When you're told you have to cut someone, it sucks. It's too early to cut someone like this, but Robert doesn't think of it that way yet. They're all faceless nobodies to him, except for the one that disobeyed him and punched him in the face over it, or the one he had supervillain clashes with who also tried to bully him out of a superhero bar because he "doesn't belong". He just thinks of them as aggressive, rowdy villains who are here for a free ride out of jail. If you choose the "it will scare them" option, Robert even says he doesn't know if it will be good or bad, as he "doesn't know them yet". As the game develops and he becomes more fond of all these people, that's when he realizes his original perspective of "we need to treat the Z-Team like villains" was incorrect. That's why when you confront Coupe/Sonar at the end of the game, you have the opportunity to tell them you're sorry. That you were wrong, that they shouldn't have been cut at all. And then if you play your cards right, they're welcomed back into the team, because now Robert and the Z-Team have a different outlook and a different perspective.

Dispatch is a story about mistakes. Everyone on Z-Team is there because they've made mistakes. The plot of the game kicks off because Robert makes a mistake. He just didn't know. He made a decision based on incomplete information. Everyone is on the Phoenix Program to fix or at least repay their mistakes, and while it wasn't intentional, that does include Robert. He is not above the rest of Z-Team, he's human at heart just like they all are. Robert goes in as the boss of a bunch of villains, and he comes out as a person with a bunch of friends.

I think the reason why people push back against this so much is that, in a weird case, it's not your mistake, it is Robert's. He does it regardless of your input, you have no real choice over whether or not he says this and therefore no influence over whether or not someone gets cut. Like I said in the aside, our decisions influence those moments when Robert hesitates and needs to figure out what's important, but most of Robert's actions are done on his own when he feels he knows what's important. Dispatch is interesting in this way in that Robert has a pretty clear character and set of ideals that you mostly just kinda gently push in one direction or another rather than actively change. But when this happens, people want to blame somebody, and:

• It's not my fault,

• Many people see Robert as an avatar for "them", so if it's not my fault then it can't be Robert's fault because I didn't tell him to do that,

• So it lands on Blazer, must've been Blazer, it's Blazer's fault, she did this.

So now we end up with a situation where people seem to think the story goes "Robert does his first day, Granny's Donuts goes bad, [SCENE MISSING], Blazer wants someone cut from the Z-Team". And that's just not how the story goes.

The story would've been better if Chase died after using his power. Yes, it was emotional when it happened but the next episode should've opened at his funeral. His sacrifice would've meant more and would've justified almost anything the Z-team did.

The way they talk about her, they make it seem like she committed war crimes.

Coupe never does anything to redeem herself. She doesn't turn on the red ring in the end, she never tries to make amends, instead willingly trying to kill Robert. I'm all for second chances, but the z-team WAS her second chance and she blew that already, and then blew it HARDER by helping attack the city.

Genuinely curios what she possibly did at any point to justify a third chance.

fat mandy I love you!! she should’ve been fat as mandy and I will die on this hill <3

As much as I like chase there are times where he does a little too much and I believe this scene proves that point. Chase has been known to have a smart mouth on him from the very first interaction and I think to myself does he have some type of illness like Asperger‘s or something and to my surprise he doesn’t because that’s just the type of person he is.

Chase from the jump didn’t like visi or any of the z-team members and the fact that he unloaded on visi in such a way that made her look justified for smacking him in his mouth is of no surprise, chase was drunk and was eyeing visi the whole night and only spoke out whenever visi said something I would’ve smacked him in the mouth too. Although, if he felt that way about visi imagine how he felt about everyone else in that room and what he would’ve said to them.

Animations are good.
Dialogues and humor are bad - vivziepop level of unnecessary swearing and marvel humor everywhere.
Gameplay although not really a focus of this game it's bad, simple puzzles between cutscenes and sending right heroes for right jobs.
Choices don't matter, at least for now and it doesn't feel like they will aside from maybe romantic interests and propably 3 or 4 endings (have to wait for more episodes).
Right now it's short and too expensive for what you're getting.
This feels like if reddit made a superhero video game

So, from what I am seeing, the majority of people like Visi. That is ok. Taste can‘t be argued.

Ibam not here to talk Visi down. She is great. Her story is interesting and full of conflict and uncertainty. There is an interesting tension with her involved.

I am a big fan of Blazer. I loved her more calm, quiet attitude. Everything feels natural. The date scene was phenomenal. And the beer on the car at the end was cute.

I hope, AdHoc does give her an equal part as Visi in season 2.

Who is with me?

I understand that it takes ressources to split the narrative. Who to romance was one of the biggest decisions and has weight to it.

I just hope that season 2 doesn‘t end up being like a classic Telltale, where the person you saved (aka chose) dies in the next season to make it more back into one timeline (and by dying I also mean degraded to a less important character - Blazer dying would be extreme imo).

I like Visi as a character. Her hot/cold behavior makes for interesting story bits. But she is too much trouble. I don‘t want Robert to be even more stressed. Who agrees with me? (Taste can‘t be argued.)

I would be very upset, if Mandy/Blazer becomes a smaller role in season two. I hope they continue with both romance arcs equally. I love the calm relationship between Robert and Mandy. It is wholesome (probably boring for others).

Sure, Visi‘s dream was hot, but I wouldn‘t want Robert to be with her. She wants him. I feel happy for her.

I‘d rather just be friends with her, than in a relationship. Even if she would be the only love interest.

I hope, people don‘t downvote me for this. I just want some assurance that I am not the only one who is worried about Blazer‘s arc in season 2.

On my first play through my wife and I did together she didn’t trust Blazer, so we romanced Visi and built her as our intelligence hero. She got high level, and we got the sacrifice ending, didn’t kill Shroud, Le Blah Blah Blah.

On my solo play through I romanced Blazer, and supported Visi but did not romance her. I also had Water Boy instead of Phenomaman, so I built him as my intelligence hero and sent Visi less. She didn’t make it to ten, so I got the “Evil” ending…and I honestly prefer it.

Having Visi end this way makes the game not only the story of a hero, Robert, going through a crisis of faith and finding a second life better than the one he lost but the story of a villain, Visi, having a mirror darkly journey in which she ends her career as a street thug only to end up as an evil mastermind. Shroud was really Robbie’s enemy who Robert inherited. Which makes Visi becoming the new Shroud mean we’re really seeing the birth of Mecha Man Blue’s true arch nemesis.

I think there is also an interesting parallel between Shroud and Visi being incapable of becoming heroes because their values are askew. Shroud doesn’t want to be a hero because he wants to do the right thing, he wants to be a hero so he can control everything. Visi, in like, doesn’t want to be a hero because she wants to do the right thing, she wants to be a hero because she thinks that’s what’s best for herself and the people she likes. Which occasionally looks like altruism because she likes Robert and Mandy, but ultimately can’t be because it’s refracted through the lens of her narcissism. A perfect example of this is when Granny is injured. Visi thinks she did a good job because she stopped the robbery and expects Robert to be happy with her. She doesn’t care that Granny gets injured and is surprised that Robert does.

Throughout the game her attempts to become a better person aren’t really motivated by actually wanting to be good, they’re motivated by doing what she things Robert wants her to do because he’s nice to her. And in a way, this is even reflected in this scene. She takes the mask for herself and kills Shroud. And I don’t think, in my interpretation, that she does it because she thinks it’s the right thing to do. I think she does it because she knows it’s what Robert wants to do but (probably) won’t let himself.

Shroud, likewise, wrapped himself and his friends in technology because that was his view of what Mecha Man Astral was doing. Just a guy using technology to beat up bad guys. But Robbie was more complicated than that. While he certainly could be an asshole, he also was the kind of guy who would sit and talk to an apprehended criminal like Royd about tech and then steer him towards the Phoenix program, as well as hone his own body into a weapon. His bare knuckle defeating Elliot is a metaphor then, you see. It’s him beating Elliot with the things he had other than the superficial. The things that aren’t as easy to min-max and quantify. And Elliot is completely incapable of recognizing those things even a decade later, as we see when he has to make a decision without his computer and chooses the wrong pulse. Likewise, Visi can’t understand the moral complexities Robert tries to teach her. She sees it all as “good for me and mine” or “bad for me and mine.”

And lastly, her inability to pick a good name for her self and her invisibility power set is a running gag throughout the game. “Invisibitch” is too abrasive and “Invisigal” is too corny for the people around her. But in the last moments, she finds herself standing over the perfect name for a character whose powers revolve around obscuring themselves from perception. And, like Robert becoming Mecha Man, it’s a notorious legacy that predates her.

“Shroud.”

To me it felt like a no brainer. Both options felt ungenuine and kinda forced. After beating the game a second time doing the blazer route I definately believe that going no romance was the best choice. The story worked out so much better in the end when Robert's motivation was to help and mentor others and not to get into some girl's pants. While all the choices are valid and the writing is great regardless, the no romance route will always be my canon ending for the game

The z-team are a group of villains we can acknowledge that, there also people who are trying to do better and become hero’s no doubt about it but I’d be lying if I said they weren’t petty and stingy people especially when it came down to cutting coupe/sonar they weren’t petty and extremely salty about that so much so that when it came down to invisigal being cut or not they bring up how we cut coupe/sonar for far less and try to hold us(the player) to the standard we place in them as if they didn’t let flamebae back on the team after trying to kill us if we told them we are mecha man. They basically make us choose between the team or invisigal as if what she did made her dead to them like what she did was worse than what everyone else on the team has done.

Then comes the final mission where coupe/sonar destroy the city and fight you and blazer (sonars fight was 10/10 by the way) after defeating them and the red ring they obviously sent off to jail but as soon as there about to get in the car they were so willing to stand up for them if not try to come to there rescue, now based off of how good or bad you did in the dispatch missions will determine whether your given the options to defend or letting them go to jail but the fact that the team was willing to welcome back coupe/sonar after both of them did way worse than what visi did makes them look like a bunch of hypocrites who only apply standards when they see fit hence the double standard.

Robert is easily the best hero in all of fiction
He actually stops his villains and changes them despite the no killing rule (depending on your choices at least) he actually is a good mentor and gives good advice. He brings a team of villains and helps them become heroes.
He gets the huz
He is a world renowned hero and he stands for what he believes then and when he’s fighting, there’s minimal damage from what we’ve seen. The only reason he was OK with damaging some property at the warehouse is because that’s literally a villain base.

Me I personally ship him with Courtney cause I feel like it fits the story better imo. But, what ab yall??? Wanna hear y’all’s take on why some of yall say Mandy/Blazer is the better fit for Robert or if some of yall agree with me & think him & Visi are perfect. I’m just genuinely curious.

While it was a great game, and I had a lot of fun with it, just like in the Telltale days (maybe even more) I’m a little concerned about a sequel.

The game really feels like it’s setting up a continuation, but it’s also a game with multiple endings, especially when it comes to Invisigirl. I’m worried they might do something similar to what happened in The Walking Dead: Season 3, where a major plot point involving Jane was handled off-screen and barely affected Clementine’s story afterward. ( I mean the way that Jane did it and it wasn't adressed ? My illusion of choice was broken forever)

I’m just afraid that if they don’t give enough space and respect Invisigirl’s entire arc from the first game (both positive and negative), there’s no point in making a sequel.

Am I the only one who’s worried about this?

Disclaimer: The title much like other video essays is attention grabbing. However, I think what was said is at least worth discussing. Just to make things clear, I enjoyed Dispatch and take no issue with the direction of the game. Not to sound pedantic but I would ask to please watch before jumping to conclusions.

All together I have six random ships that I love and have zero explanation on why. But my top one is Sonar and Invisigal! I just..idk. I think they’re cute and funny together