Dispatch Review

AdHoc Studio’s episodic superhero adventure, Dispatch, has released its highly anticipated finale after spreading out content over a weekly schedule. If you engaged with the community in between batches, you likely saw players trading theories, comparing end-of-episode stats, and discussing Dispatch’s Telltale Games DNA, which is no surprise given AdHoc’s Telltale background. However, if you waited to play everything all at once, then you might be wondering if this story-rich comedy offers the choices, character arcs, and gameplay that make for a satisfying experience.

Across Dispatch’s eight-episode journey, you’ll play as Robert Robertson, a hero facing retirement when his Mecha Man suit is destroyed during an attempt at avenging his father’s death. He can’t fund repairs alone, so he’s ready to call it quits, but Blonde Blazer saves the day, offering Robert a job at SDN (Superhero Dispatch Network) whilst the company rebuilds his suit. With the hope of being Mecha Man again, he takes the job. The thing is, Robert isn’t working with career heroes; he’s put in charge of the Z-team, a group of ex-supervillains looking to rehabilitate their image.

These characters are all voiced by familiar names, such as Aaron Paul (best known as Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad), Laura Bailey (The Last of Us II), and Erin Yvette (The Wolf Among Us). There are also well-known content creators and musicians voicing the Z-team, including Seán McLoughlin (Jacksepticeye), THOT SQUAD, and many others. Each performance is phenomenal, and the voices work well together as an ensemble. Whether it’s Blonde Blazer’s earnest demeanour, Waterboy’s anxious stutter, or Robert’s deadpan humour, you’re truly in for a treat.

Dispatch also aces its visuals, offering cool hero designs, excellent fight choreography, and intentional scene framing. Watching cutscenes felt like kicking back with a quality animated show, and the more you replay, the more you’ll notice small details in character expressions and interactions in the background. The great musical tracks complement how good the game looks, as well, and there’s even karaoke that’s sung so badly, it’s good (trust me).

Tonally, the game earns its “comedic” tag; you hardly hear a line delivered without some cheekiness or sarcasm. That said, it doesn’t shy away from darker, emotional moments. You can (and I suspect, will) end one of these episodes in tears, though I won’t spoil which. As for the characters, they are delightfully written with satisfying arcs. Robert might be one of my favourite protagonists in a good while, and seeing him grapple with identity, forgiveness, and connection really resonated. Character progression for other prominent cast members is also handled exceptionally well and can change based on your decisions throughout the story.

While the game rushed to the ending pretty quickly, I do love that there are no filler moments in Dispatch. With episodes lasting between 45 and 60 minutes, AdHoc made sure each scene was tightly crafted. You’re always moving the story forward, and if you’re not engaging with the dispatching mini-game behind Robert’s desk, you’re choosing dialogue options, doing quick-time events (which can be toggled on or off) during fight sequences, or making a hard decision at the end of an episode.

When it comes to choices, it does feel like minor ones lead to similar outcomes, just slightly changing the way you got there, which can make it feel like some things don’t matter. Major decisions, such as who to romance, who to cut from your team, and who to add after that aforementioned removal, all feel significant. Given the different one-on-one scenes and team builds, it’s worth replaying to see how your choices play out.

If you’re a Telltale fan, you’ll notice that Dispatch doesn’t have you walk around and explore when you’re not engaging in conversations; instead, gameplay moments put you in the titular role of dispatching. This mini-game will usually commence after opening dialogue choices or cutscenes when Robert finally sits down at his desk. From there, you’ll be brought to a map of the local LA neighbourhoods with your team’s portraits at the bottom of the screen.

When emergency calls begin pouring in, it’s up to you to assign the right hero to the job based on their stats in the following categories: Vigor, Mobility, Charisma, Intellect, and Combat. Missions will have unique needs, whether you’re getting a kitten out of a tree or soothing the public with a speech, and you’ll figure out who to send based on keywords from the caller. As you complete calls, the Z-team will even gain XP, allowing you to allocate skill points and build their stats in any way you see fit. You’ll benefit from creating a varied team, as the game introduces extra difficulty with auto-failure calls or bonus-XP missions if you can avoid or reach a certain stat threshold.

That said, Robert isn’t completely hands-off when the team is doing hero things, as you might need to assist in other ways. For one, there’s a hacking mini-game, unlocking paths whilst completing simple puzzles and dodging anti-viruses. More often, you’ll just have to make additional decisions mid-call, which usually require a skill check; for example, if you want your teammate to talk their way out of a situation, they’ll need enough Charisma to make it out uninjured. Sometimes, if you happen to send a specific hero, you’ll get a special option unique to them when handling the emergency, but if they’re not responding to the call, that choice will be greyed out.

Fail a call or a mini-game mid-call, and your team member will be injured; fail again, and they’ll be downed for your shift. That is pretty much the extent of consequences for performing poorly. Letting a plane crash or thieves run rampant in the city doesn’t really affect the narrative (I know it probably feels like it should). At times, it does feel a bit odd that doing badly doesn’t get accounted for in the main story, but it doesn’t take away from the fun.

As I mentioned in previous reviews-in-progress, the dispatching sections and hero management are so enjoyable that I’d take an endless/infinite mode of it. I could’ve done without the hacking mini-game, though, as its early iterations are far too simple, erring more on the side of boring, and its more complex sequences in later episodes are just tedious rather than challenging. It’s especially unfortunate that the last half of the game goes heavy on hacking.

The threshold that causes your calls to fail if you reach a high stat, such as a high Combat skill, was also annoying to deal with since it was introduced so late in the game, after you’ve already been building your team for a while. I think that’s something that should’ve been included early on, as you can’t re-assign points to characters, and complete failure just based on stats is unfairly punishing. At least let us prepare for this challenge by giving us a heads up in, at the very least, Episode 2.

Perhaps my biggest disappointment with Dispatch’s ending is that it, well, ended. I had such a fun time getting to know these characters, watching the Z-team grow closer, and struggling to decide who Robert should romance. I do think there are some things it could’ve done better, such as giving us more dispatching opportunities or improving the screentime balance between Robert’s potential partners, and on that note, giving us additional romance options. The unifying thread between all that, though, is the word “more”. It’s not that what’s here is exactly lacking, but it’s so enjoyable and well-done that you can’t help but ask for an extra heaping of all of it.

Dispatch is absolutely a must-play for anyone who loves a good story, interactive fiction, Telltale titles, or superhero tales. For a debut, it knocks it out of the park, setting the bar high for future AdHoc endeavours. Even though it’s not perfect, it’s such a strong and innovative experience that you won’t regret giving it a go.