Dispatch (2025) game review
I play video games on a very casual basis. I’ve always preferred watching movies or television shows to gaming, and only really delve into the latter if there’s a game that has an interesting narrative or storyline. Hence why I really enjoy Resident Evil games, as they have the built up mythology/lore behind them, and the games themselves offer a good blend of action, horror and fun. Rockstar Games also play into this well with their Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto IPs. Then there are the episodic story driven games that rely on the players choices to drive the narrative forward with lasting consequences. I’ve always enjoyed this style of gaming the most, as essentially it’s like watching a TV show, but with interactive elements. Telltale Games was the studio that really perfected this formula with the likes of their Walking Dead and Wolf Among Us games, however unfortunately they went out of business a few years back. Until now, where some Telltale staff have now reassembled as a new AdHocStudio company, with Dispatch being their first release. I am aware that I’m a bit late to the game, as all episodes have already been released and on TikTok and other social media platforms and forums I’ve seen lots of fans already throwing discussions and fan art around this game - it’s somewhat created a cult following. So a couple of weeks ago I sat down to play through Dispatch and see what all the fuss was about.
Plot: You play as Robert Robertson, former superhero known as Mecha Man, whose suit has been destroyed, following another confrontation with the villainous Shroud and his gang. He is forced to take up work as a dispatcher for the Superhero Dispatch Network (SDN), managing a team of reformed villains (the “Z Team”) while balancing office politics, relationships, and rebuilding his gear for revenge. The game blends Telltale-style decision-making with management-sim elements, letting players strategically deploy heroes, navigate witty dialogue, and shape the story through choices, all within a grounded, "workplace comedy" superhero setting.
I get it. I get the acclaim. Dispatch is pretty awesome on essentially every level possible. In fact, it’s less of a game compared to what Telltale used to make, which works for me, as again, I come from a movie/TV show watching background. For Dispatch really does feel like you’re watching an animated superhero series, with everyone so often needing to make dialogue or character choices that impact how you wish your Robert to progress through. Main choices revolve around how you lead your team, who you want to keep on and who to get rid of, and the most important part of all….. relationships! Well, to be exact there are two relationship choices only. If you were hoping for the chance to date the big bulky rock dude, you’re out of luck. But at least you can buy him a drink (genuinely, that is an option). But the characters really are what make this game so engaging and enjoyable. They all have their distinct personalities, and as you get to know/bond with them, you really do end up feeling like you’re part of that super team, where the way you act will impact how they will be with you. The story also throws in enough twists and turns throughout the episodes to keep things interesting, in particular when certain flashbacks reveal certain additional layers to characters that could change your perspective on them and vice versa. All in all, it’s a very well written narrative, and one that proves that superhero fatigue isn’t really a thing, if the material is done well. Because of course the superhero genre is one of the most oversaturated in our current day and age, however if the formula is redone in a quality way, it can work. With Dispatch, the character designs and personalities are so distinct, as well as the dialogue being filled with actually funny jokes that don’t feel forced, that it’s hard not to get invested.
The voice cast assembled also bring their A-game, and really take this up a notch compared to other games that feature either too monotone or overly cheesy voice acting. Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul brings an ordinary every man quality to Robert, yet he has enough edge and sarcasm to his tone that makes him easy to root for. Video game voice acting legend Laura Bailey (who also lent her vocals in The Last of Us, Skyrim, Infamous, Uncharted, Final Fantasy, Street Fighter, Bordelands and more!) voices one of the possible love interests Invisigal. She brings a lot of gothic edge and sass to this character, one that is really unpredictable in her actions, but has a soft spot for Robert, and even though she makes a lot of mistakes, there is a genuine earnestness to her that makes you believe she means well. Erin Yvette is Blazer - the Supergirl-knock off who brings Robert into the SDN, and she was just that constantly reliable and trustworthy companion you can rely on. Yvette manages to balance this character really well, by jumping from heroic prose to dorky banter with sharp precision. Other funky characters include a fire powered a-hole; a half man half bat; Waterboy who is literally young lad with water powers; and a sexy red demon lady from a different dimension who can travel through portals. Less not forget that Jeffrey Wright himself also plays a part here and adds a fun level of snarky and crude to his mentor of sorts to Robert.
From a gameplay standpoint, the main gaming aspect is during the dispatch sections of the game, where you send your team members to different areas of the city to help fight crime and save the day, and you need to match your teammates abilities with the correct job for them to result in a successful outcome. But don’t worry, if you send someone on the wrong job, or you don’t have enough options available for the right dispatch, the game takes it pretty easy on you, and in fact at times these unsuccessful dispatch missions lead to some fun and exciting character developments. The QuickTime events are also unfortunately present in the game, however the developers evident sussed that a lot of games don’t like this, so this aspect is made optional, so you can simply get rid of them altogether and just enjoy the show. Most infuriating element of the gameplay were these small hacking sections that really peed me off, so the less I say about them the better.
All in all it feels like I’ve experience a fantastic 8-episode season of a fun show with great 2D animation, wonderful music from Andrew Arcadi, superb characters and voice acting, and a narrative with plenty of dark humour, twists and turns. It’s great to see AdHoc trying to bring back the Telltale Games format but simplified yet improved, and I’m hoping this is just the beginning for dispatchers and many more games of this kind.
Overall score: 8/10
