Dispatch

The Boys, The Gals, The MechaMen

Dispatch (2025) comes from AdHoc Studio, a team founded by former Telltale Games developers. Naturally, that raises expectations for some good storytelling. And I must say, I was satisfied.

There's a bit of romance, a bit of drama, and plenty of comedy. The story unfolds quite organically, with characters who are mostly likeable, including "Invisibitch"... ahem, "Invisigal". I thought my approach to her was rather friendly, but judging by the consequences, apparently not.

But that would be spoilers.

The game takes place in a world where superheroes exist. I don't recall it ever explaining the origins of their abilities, so I suppose we can assume they've always been a part of this universe.

The main story is fairly generic. It revolves around the protagonist's past and his struggle to continue his work as a superhero. Nothing particularly groundbreaking, and certainly not a story that would make me cry. But it was good. Well written, entertaining, and with enough character development to keep me interested.

Speaking of characters, I particularly enjoy superhero designs where superpowers come with some sort of physical defect or disadvantage. It reminded me a little of The Boys TV series, although Dispatch is considerably milder in that regard.

The characters themselves are well written, and most of them receive a reasonable amount of development, from the main cast to those who spend considerably less time on screen. Nobody really felt forgotten or completely irrelevant. I think the story was well balanced in that regard.

And then there's the voice acting. Oh boy.

Telltale-style games have always had some excellent voice actors, but Dispatch takes it a step further. The cast includes talent from Critical Role, Jacksepticeye, and several other familiar voices, including Aaron Paul. And seriously, the performances are brilliant. The delivery, the emotions, the personalities... The characters genuinely feel alive, and the voice acting contributes enormously to that. 

Visually, Dispatch follows the familiar comic-book aesthetic of Telltale-style games, although with its own identity. It looks good, fits the superhero setting, and works particularly well with the character designs.

As for gameplay, the usual quick-time events are still present, but this time there's an additional mechanic at the centre of the experience - superhero management. 

You dispatch heroes to various incidents, trying to match their abilities to the situation. And honestly? It's pretty good.

I was initially concerned that this would become repetitive, but the story is short enough that the mechanic never really overstays its welcome. More importantly, it actually contributes to the narrative. You're managing these people, dealing with their strengths and weaknesses, and gradually getting to know them. It's a well-integrated system that gives the player something meaningful to do between story sequences.

The music, however, didn't leave much of an impression. I can't say it was particularly good or bad. I simply don't remember any of it.

The same goes for the sound design, excluding the voice acting. It does its job, but nothing really stands out. It's fine. Just fine.

Overall, Dispatch is a very enjoyable narrative game. Its story might be somewhat predictable and its main premise isn't especially original, but the characters, their interactions, and the excellent voice acting make it worth experiencing. The management mechanic is a welcome addition that actually serves a purpose, rather than feeling like something added just to give the player more buttons to press.

It's a good example of how even a fairly ordinary story can be entertaining when the people telling it know what they're doing.