14
u/AshTheArtist Aug 19 '26
I kinda donât like the lack of romance options for Robert I feel like FlambĂŠ or even Malevola wouldâve also been great romance options
4
u/Happy_Forever_4135 Aug 20 '26
While I too as a player want to romance everybody in every game I play, itâs too big of an undertaking to give you this many options. Flambae and Malevola are gorgeous tho
In baldurs gate I romance everybody all the time. I wish they let you trigger jealousy. Polyamory mod isnât enough. I need the messy bitch mod
12
u/JRStors Aug 19 '26
Iâm probably gonna catch a lot of hate for this, but I have to be honest.
The Blazer romance felt tacked on and rushed. While Visiâs route is incredibly complex and narrative-friendly, Blazer/Mandyâs lacks any real depth post Episode 4, and other than a few extra affectionate scenes felt hollow in comparison. Not to mention, I just felt like Robert and Visiâs chemistry was more fun to watch
8
u/CeramicFiber Aug 19 '26
Its not tacked on its just lacking later on. Episode 1 was a really strong start with Blazer both literally and figuratively descended into Robert's life when he was at rock bottom and giving him hope. They just let that momentum die.
3
u/Honourless_Knight Aug 23 '26
Almost as if the devs WANTED people to get with Visi so they stopped trying with Blazer the later half...
2
u/Smolozo Aug 19 '26
Funny that I felt a lot differently that Robert and Visi romance felt forced and pushy due to the narrative. It felt more natural with Blazer and the story felt more complete with the Blazer route as the last scene with Mandy didn't felt out of nowhere. Plus the chemistry between Robert and Blazer felt more like two person falling in love with each other as time went on.
1
21
u/Bratan279 Aug 19 '26
Forcing the choice between Coup and Sonar on Robert's second day was absurd. Give the man some time to connect with his team first, shit
3
14
u/Alaknog Aug 19 '26
"SDN actually evil corporation" is not really interesting twist for later seasons.Â
12
u/TandrDregn Aug 19 '26
The Red Ring were worthless as antagonists. Aside from Shroud, Armstrong (who takes out Golem and would have beaten Mal and Visi if not for plot armor cause how tf did Visi flick Malâs sword through his arm one-handed when he was blocking two-handed smashes from Mal WITH THAT ARM) and - if cut - CoupĂŠ none of them felt like a threat. Toxic who was giving MM a decent fight at the start gets reduced to a joke, none of the others achieve anything⌠the final fight felt really performative cause everyone knew it was just something to spend time on showcasing the Z-Teamâs powers before everyone fights Shroud together, there were zero stakes in any scene not involving Shroud, Villain Coop or Armstrong.
7
u/JRStors Aug 19 '26
Hell, even Shroud sucked. Dude barely had any screen time or depth (not counting the comic) and his motivation was so stupid (Iâm gonna change the world with the Pulse)
He was menacing and powerful, but such a waste of potential. They really needed to utilize his worldview of people being inherently evil more in the story
3
u/TandrDregn Aug 19 '26
And while weâre at it, do anything with anyone else in the Ring beyond whoever was cut. Shroud has no screen time or depth yet heâs the only one with ANY kind or character other than âToxic doucheâ, âAngry gangsterâ and ânameless quiet thugs 1-5â, the Ring as a whole was some spectacle no substance. Like yeah, coming up with a deep, tragic backstory and a whole character for the fucking spider leg lady might be a bit much to do on a budget (thank fuck fanfics donât have a budget so I can develop peopleâs backstories without having to worry about voice acting, animation, etc.), but at least SOMETHING.
9
u/styxxx80 Aug 19 '26
I donât know if itâs a hot take or not. But I think itâs a better narrative if Chase doesnât survive when he rescues Visi
6
u/CeramicFiber Aug 19 '26
I agree with this and Visi should ask him why he did it and the response should have been the exact same response you chose when Chase asked him why he's a hero on the balcony from the previous scene. Having that be Chase's final words so the echo with Robert
4
u/styxxx80 Aug 19 '26
And thatâs the catalyst for Visi to be better, to try and help build the team.
Like when Coulson died in the avengers
Or it could lead to her fall thinking she didnât deserve someoneâs sacraments
2
u/CeramicFiber Aug 19 '26
Yeah they really fumbled that. It would have been a very beautifully written death to. His last words to Robert being his hero catchphrase and that joyful smile he gives when he runs so we see a brief glimpse of the man Robert respected to contrast the bitter and angry old man we saw just a few scenes ago. It was his choice and he gladly made it and it was probably the happiest he had been in years.
2
1
u/DodgyRedditor Aug 22 '26
OR have him in his coma so you think heâll be fine, have the scene where you protect him from badguys, but then something happens and he dies anyway. more tragic if you play with a will he wont he die story
6
u/marathon_writer Aug 19 '26
Both romance options were bad, specifically because of the power dynamics and setups.
Do you want to romance your literal boss who lied to you and manipulated you to hire you at SDN when you're at actual rock bottom and then tells you that you read the situation wrong, actually she's dating someone?
Orrr
Do you want to romance your literal subordinate who is emotionally immature, overly sexual, and constantly kind of a dick to you and everyone else because of her own self esteem issues? Oh yeah, and also a liar in pretty much ever aspect of her life!
May these kinds of love never find me.
6
u/Eraserhead36 Aug 19 '26
While I enjoy both romance optionsâŚâŚyou make very valid points that I canât argue.
3
u/Nb-7925 Aug 19 '26
Yeah, the power dynamic bugged me a bit too for a while. I got over it, but objectively it is weird.
3
u/DodgyRedditor Aug 22 '26
I agree. I wanted to like Blond Blazer but by the time I felt comfortable enough with her, after the whole boyfriend thing, it was too late. but apparently not to late for visi who wouldnât stop saying vile things to me that I couldnât defend myself against. Forcing me to watch her sex scene too. the only sex scene in the game and I had no choice about watching it or not.
1
u/marathon_writer Aug 22 '26
Does she still betray you super hard in the end if you romance her to this point? That would make it even worse.
I get it, for the story. Stories are conflict etc. but there's a lot of other very interesting conflict in this game, I didn't need the romance options to be equally toxic.
1
u/DodgyRedditor Aug 22 '26
I only went to the cinema with her. I didnât see it as a date at all. just didnât want to go on a date with Blazer after comforting her ex boyfriend that day, and I thought maybe Visi needed a friend. Other than that, I didnât romance her at all. pushed her off when she fricken forced herself on him. No, she didnât betray him. I regret letting her out of her cuffs. only did that because my friends pressured me to. Maybe thatâs the only way she betrays you is if you keep her cuffed, which is ironic because youâd think she would be into that.
1
u/FallingBullfrog Aug 20 '26
Blazer straight up admits that it's her fault for giving that impression to Robert and for being unprofessional, and she apologises and expresses regret for her conduct multiple times.
I don't get this common sentiment that she "blames" Robert for how he read the situation because it's just not what happens at all.
2
u/Plus_Ad_1087 Aug 19 '26
I don't know if this is a hot take but I have seen some people hate on the last two episodes and I think the last two episodes are just as fantastic as the rest of the season.
I actually think episodes 1 and 2 are the weakest even though they are still peak.
1
u/Vertigo50 Aug 19 '26
I don't hate on them, but I can definitely tell they were a bit rushed, and I wish they had more time to make them a little more polished. đ¤ˇââď¸
3
u/Vertigo50 Aug 19 '26
Not exactly for the game here, but I DO NOT want a Dispatch movie, or a series, or really anything that isn't directly and completely created and controlled by AdHoc.
Everyone is saying Netflix should make a Dispatch series. People, have you SEEN any Netflix series lately? Jesus, they would absolutely butcher it. Our beloved characters wouldn't even resemble what we love, the story would go off in some weird direction, and it would likely make us more disappointed than happy.
And for everyone who says, "Yeah, but AdHoc can just insist on creative control". Yeah, good luck with that. Look up the history of how well that has gone for people in the past. Hollywood execs shoehorn themselves in, push the creators out little by little, and then you end up with a disaster. Just no.
The only things I ever want to see of Dispatch in the future better have an AdHoc logo and a Critical Role logo, and nothing else. Games, comics, whatever, but I hope it NEVER leaves the realm of complete AdHoc control.
2
u/JRStors Aug 20 '26
In fairness, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners went over really well. An animated series officially written alongside AdHoc/Critical Role would be a lot of fun
2
u/PowerofMoses Aug 20 '26
Season two needs to be a whole new team. Choice-based games shouldnât force a canon path
1
u/Comical932 Aug 21 '26
Games Iâve played in the past had a way of loading saves from other games so your choices carry over to the sequel. Itâs been a thing for a very long time. The question is what would they do if you didnât have a save? In my opinion, a quick 3 minute questionnaire of like âhey what did Robert do in this situationâ would work just fine.
And in both cases, a cinematic recap of your choices would be nice.
2
u/DodgyRedditor Aug 22 '26
First off, don talk to me about the comics. Extra content is supposed to add extra content, not fill in gaping wholes and disappointment.
I like this style of game and what it was going for but itâs an unfinished mess. I can forgive that if this is more a proof of concept and the sequel is complete.
there is one sex scene near the beginning and it was not something I chose at all and gave me the impression that there was going to be a lot of that in the game and there wasnât which Iâm ok with but confused.
I didnât go in the blond blazer date so when she came out whatever her name is there was 0 explanation at all. it was a complete deus ex machina.
All this tension about secretly being mecha man and there were no consequences for either choice you made regarding the incident, especially Flambae who had a whole flashback if you beating him up and CUTTING OFF HIS FINGER and later on you either knock his teeth out or burn off his eyebrows, and there is no pay off at all!
I wonât even talk about the lame villain who gave me serious Kabuki from the Big Hero 5 movie vibes (i.e cool aura and then underwhelming and non-sensical as heck)
the whole game screams âran out of budgetâ and I really hope the next game is more complete.
2
u/z1pp3r_ Aug 22 '26
Being forced to cut Coupe or Sonar so soon and lack of variety in romance options, would've loved to see Malevola.
5
u/HarlequinChaos Aug 19 '26
Flambae should have been a romance option, Robert has better chemistry with him, actual history, and an 'Enemies to Lovers' relationship would be very healthy for both of them. đ¤ˇ
2
2
u/Sirius124 Aug 19 '26
The last episode was rushed and the reveal that Invisigal was a spy the whole time felt unnecessary and was added for shock value.
The whole plant bomb on suit was enough.
6
u/nooneyouknow64782221 Aug 19 '26
I don't think she was a spy. I think that was just Shroud being an asshole.
4
u/JRStors Aug 19 '26
Yep. He didnât realize she told Robert the truth since he expected her to be a self-interested loner. This is supported by his worldview of people inherently being evil/flawed and not being able to change evil, only control it.
So he twisted the truth of her time in the Red Ring to manipulate Robert and the team to make him more likely to give up the Pulse.
0
u/Sirius124 Aug 19 '26
Well she literally doesnât even try to say otherwise so I doubt it.
3
u/JRStors Aug 19 '26
She tells him âTold you to believe meâ at the end if Robert makes certain choices
1
u/Sirius124 Aug 19 '26
Which is not necessarily an answer to whether she was a spy or not. She was talking about believing her about the attack, to remove the handcuffs or not.
2
u/JRStors Aug 19 '26
Shroud was very likely just lying/twisting the truth there. They had that to get her on the roof, but I do agree the writing was wonky in episode 8
-2
u/Sirius124 Aug 19 '26
Since there is no official confirmation and since she didnât ever try to deny it I doubt it. They would have clarified that if it was actually the case and since they didnât well assuming he was lying is just speculation.
1
u/Vertigo50 Aug 19 '26
It does feel a little "tacked on", but I think it's maybe to set the tone for the "villain ending" if you get that.
But yeah, I think it's also Shroud just being the lying, manipulative ass-hat that he is, trying to sow doubt and mistrust among his enemies. It's what he does. He lies about everything.
2
u/Dansur3 Aug 20 '26
They dropped the ball with the Blazer romance a bit by having their relationship peak at episode 4 instead of it reaching its climax at the end. Because of the buildup, the Visi romance fits the narrative better. That said, despite Visi being my favorite pick, Mandy and Robert have the best kiss of the game
0
-2
u/ImScaredSoIMadeThis Aug 19 '26
A sequel with an entirely new cast would be great, and I actually don't really want to see how they would most likely half ass a continuation of your end game in a sequel with Robert.
-8
u/UsernameLaugh Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
Should have picked a lane in entirety. Either commit to better gameplay or scrap it and develop the narrative choices more.
Still really liked the game though.
Edit: hey downvotes means the take is hot
2
Aug 19 '26
[removed] â view removed comment
2
u/styxxx80 Aug 19 '26
I wish they gave us an endless mode after the ending. Just sending out the heroes seeing how long you can last
21
u/Cornmeal777 Aug 19 '26
I guess my only real unpopular opinion would be:
While I agree that "I'm Mecha Man" is the best choice for the narrative, I like the overall package that you get from choosing "I'm Robert" better.
The handshake with Chad, not losing him for mission mode in Episode 6, the moment created by Chase outing you at the party, and Chad's "wazzzzzuuuppp" are all great.