Dispatch Hands-off Preview

AdHoc Studio’s debut, the superhero workplace comedy titled Dispatch, is shaping up to be a combination of excellent visual fidelity, fun dispatch management sim gameplay, and compelling storytelling that draws on the team’s Telltale Games background. After playing the demo released back in May, which showcased a snippet of Robert Robertson’s first day on the job, I was itching to see the aftermath of Invisigal’s tap-in request at Granny’s Donuts; thankfully, we were recently invited to a hands-off preview event where I had the opportunity to see what happens next.

In Dispatch, Robert lived life as Mecha Man until his mech-suit was destroyed, so he got a regular job at a company called SDN, the Superhero Dispatch Network. If he helps them, they’ve promised to rebuild his suit, allowing him to leave this washed-up hero era behind him. Given the name, you’d assume his co-workers are fellow heroes, but he’s actually managing a group of ex-villains — unaffectionately known as the Z-team. They’re rowdy, not accustomed to being do-gooders, and prone to going rogue mid shift, so managing the eight of them will definitely be a challenge.

For this hands-off preview, we see Robert seated, headset on, ready to begin, but he’s met with bellyaching laughter the moment he speaks; clearly, these former villains don’t respect him yet, but hey, it’s the first day. As you progress, you’ll be able to turn this messy group into an A-team of heroes and, similar to other interactive fiction games, your dialogue choices will impact those relationships, changing the direction of the story. Friendships, romances, and rivalries are on the table, but your level of closeness could make future decisions even harder when they come along.

During this first shift, though, you’re simply learning how best to manage them. When distress calls come in, you’ll click the markers on the city map, read the details of the call, assess the problem, and then dispatch the right person for the job. Your best chance at success is sending the team member whose stats match the needs of the call.

Dispatch’s stats are divided into five categories: Vigor, Mobility, Charisma, Intellect, and Combat. A ribbon-cutting event requires someone who will make SDN look good, so you’ll send a Charisma-focused hero. A neighbourhood fire could use someone durable to prevent further damage, so a higher Vigor stat is vital. As your heroes gain more experience, they’ll earn stat points that you can spend to level them up.

You can get a hero injured during a shift, which will decrease their stats by one point, making them less effective. If they get hurt a second time, they’ll be downed, meaning they’re unavailable for the rest of the shift. When it comes to further consequences, though, you don’t have to worry about getting heroes killed, as they can’t die from your dispatch decisions.

Sometimes you do need to make additional orders after sending someone off to a call. You’ll know you’re needed when the marker on the map flashes red, bringing up a set of options when you click on it. The example used during the preview was a family trapped inside a home, requiring Robert to decide whether to have his hero “convince them to take a leap of faith”, “lead a path to circumvent the smoke”, or have them “stop, drop, and roll”. The team member’s stats do affect the outcome of the option you select.

Other times, Robert needs to have his eyes on the scene, going from the overhead city map to a camera view, which is how we transitioned to Invisigal investigating a burglary in Granny’s Donuts during the preview. Here, you get to select dialogue options, answering questions about Robert’s favourite doughnut, but soon things get more involved, as he needs to get a better visual of the scene by hacking into the shop’s cameras.

While hacking, you get to take over a small circular avatar, navigating paths while finding passkeys in a minimalistic, digital space. These puzzles can come with time pressure or danger if anti-viruses are hunting you. In this case, the hacked camera reveals a villain is still inside the shop, which leads to a battle with Invisigal. Robert isn’t just an onlooker when action hits, though, as you’ll need to select what actions Invisigal takes, such as whether she ducks or goes invisible when the attacker strikes.

Dispatch looks and sounds great so far. Even in the middle of high-octane moments, it manages to keep the dialogue funny yet balanced. Its eclectic cast of voice actors nails the sarcasm, silliness, and urgency well. The choreography of the doughnut fight also makes me excited for the brawls and superhero abilities we’ll get to see in the full game.

As for other media comparisons, if you enjoy titles like The Bear, Ted Lasso, Invincible, and Veep, you’ll definitely find similarities in this game. AdHoc Studio set out to make a title that looks like a premium, hand-crafted animated show, and from this short preview, what I saw was quite promising.

Dispatch will have a weekly episodic release schedule when it launches on PC and PlayStation 5, but don't worry, you won’t have to wait months between episodes. Instead, you’ll get two episodes per week for four weeks; each is roughly one hour long.

The first batch premieres on the 22nd of October 2025, bringing us Episode 1, “Pivot”, and Episode 2, “Onboard”.