Dispatch Review

Ever since I stumbled across the various playthroughs of Telltale’s titles on YouTube over ten years ago, such as The Walking Dead, Tales From The Borderlands, and, of course, my favourite game, The Wolf Among Us, I have been an avid lover of this genre. So when Dispatch was revealed at the 2024 Game Awards, I knew I needed to play it. After all, who doesn’t want to support some of the creators who brought my favourite game to life? The very person I watched playing through those titles, Jacksepticeye, is also featured, and it’s truly amazing how full circle it feels playing Dispatch and one of my favourite content creators being a part of it. The very second I started Dispatch, it reminded me how much I truly adore choice-driven games.

Dispatch is a hilarious, action-packed choice game that takes you on a journey exploring Mecha Man’s new life after his suit is destroyed. You’ll become a dispatcher at the Superhero Dispatch Network, better known as SDN, and take charge of a group of misfit heroes needing help and guidance, and who better than a well-seasoned hero such as you? Dispatch will take you on a comedic journey, all while showing the importance of trust, friendship, and overall respect as you uncover an immersive story that keeps you wanting more.

Although Dispatch has great current-with-the-times dialogue and crude banter throughout its entire playthrough, it has deep moments of clarity and vulnerability that will pull at your heartstrings. It reveals that beneath all the laughs and teasing lies a team that truly cares about one another in their own unique way. Dispatch is written well, and despite the fact it features a plethora of swearing and dick jokes it’s self-aware enough to pull it off. This game is the breath of fresh air I needed, featuring a style of superhero humour I have been missing since finishing the season finale of Peacemaker.

We can tell because he wears sunglasses inside

Each episode takes around an hour to complete and plays like a TV series. It features amazing quality cutscenes and a clear screen when you are dispatching the Z-Team. And when it comes to dispatching, it’s not all silent; the characters will talk to you and each other, and the story will continue even during this time. It’s a novel approach that has you multitask between listening and dispatching, keeping the game interesting as you discover more about your team.

Characters after being dispatched sometimes might get stuck, so they’ll need your help to decide what they need to do to get the best outcome. After each mission, the characters will also need time to relax before being sent out again. So, you’ll need to be strategic in who you choose to go out and fight crime, not only for the benefit of the public but also for your team’s benefit, as some specific missions will give XP to all members or a singular member. On top of this, things get increasingly more difficult as you play, and you can risk your team getting hurt or downed. It’s not especially difficult, but has just enough to get you thinking a bit more.

The more you send a character, the more XP they gain to allow upgrades within one of the five stats, namely combat, vigor, mobility, charisma, and intellect. From the get-go, specific characters will have more experience with other stats than others, which means you’ll be required to pick the best-suited hero for the job. On the stat graph, it’ll be shown within what traits you need for the mission to go well and a ball will bounce around and land in failed or succeeded. The more people you send on a mission, the more successful you’ll be, but you risk not having enough or the right heroes for the next mission that pops up.

Yeah, you go do that, Sonar

Heroes will also have the opportunity to go to hero training, which allows them to unlock other abilities that will help them and others on missions you’ll send them out on. These hero abilities include flying to a location and healing when deployed. On top of this, each character has a preferred member of the team they like to be sent with, which can then make missions go more smoothly as they will have a better chance to succeed, thanks to various powers being triggered.

There is also hacking involved, which you’ll get to do from time to time on shift, which is simple to do and clearly shown how to manoeuvre through. You’ll need to remember passwords, unlock bridges, get past defences, and go through mazes, all to get to the end. This can involve you hacking security cameras or a humble remote-controlled bidet, and as you go through each episode the hacking does get harder, but it’s not a huge jump in difficulty and you’re mostly eased into it.

It doesn’t matter if you are on keyboard and mouse or controller, navigation and control is simple – it’s more about just enjoying the story being told. Quick time events can be switched off completely if they aren’t your bag, which makes it play out like a passive movie, and this is a welcome addition if you really want to take in the epic fighting scenes that are littered throughout the game.

He might be a crappy DJ

Dispatch looks, feels, and sounds high quality throughout the entire experience. There is no moment where things feel out of place or rigid – every moment feels realistic, even in its 3D comic-book stylised visuals. The ambient sounds and banging soundtrack bring everything together, perfectly complementing the atmosphere in every episode. I’ll definitely be listening to the soundtrack in my own time, that’s for sure.

The voice acting not only features icons such as Jacksepticeye, MoistCr1TiKaL, Yung Gravy, Mathew Mercer, and Aaron Paul, but also high quality work from everyone involved. The emotions behind each character, the inflections and tone feel just right for each quirky character you come by, no matter the context. The characters are done extremely well, specifically with the expressions they have; there wasn’t a moment when I questioned how someone was feeling, which is impressive given the sheer amount of characters and potential interactions.

What’s your pick?

Dispatch is seriously addictive thanks to its characters, story, quality, music, voice acting, and visuals. I had to physically stop myself from playing at times so I could savour the experience. It also features the iconic “_____ will remember that” which is one of the reasons I love choice games and fell in love with Telltale years ago. It makes the story feel even more personal to you.

Final Thoughts

If you are a fan of choice games and anything superhero, you will not be disappointed with the journey Dispatch takes you on. There was not a moment throughout my time playing when I wanted to leave. It pulls you in and keeps you there for the entire ride. Dispatch was anything but disappointing – it is everything I knew I needed as well as plenty I didn’t know I needed. So far, this is my 2025 Game of the Year, and I hope AdHoc Studio reaps the accolades it deserves. Season 2 now please.

Reviewed on PC // Review code supplied by publisher

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