Dispatch Review: The Superhero Desk Job You Didn’t Know You Needed

Overall Impression

Dispatch is an episodic adventure game from AdHoc Studio (a team made up of developers formerly from Telltale Games), blending narrative-driven dialogue choices with a lighter strategic “dispatch” mechanic. PC Gamer+2The Gamer+2 It bills itself as a “superhero workplace comedy” where you play as Robert Robertson (voiced by Aaron Paul), a washed-up hero turned dispatcher for a team of misfit ex-villains. Wikipedia+1

In short: if you enjoy character-driven stories, choice-based games (à la Telltale), and a quirky take on the superhero genre—Dispatch delivers. If you were hoping for fast-paced action or deep strategy, you might find it lighter than expected.

What Works Well

1. Visual & Production Quality. The game looks superb: polished animation, expressive characters, vibrant colour palettes. Reviewers say it "looks like an honest-to-Superman TV series." PC Gamer+1 The voice cast is also stellar—Aaron Paul, Jeffrey Wright, Laura Bailey among others. GamesRadar++2Metacritic+2

2. Fresh Take on Superhero Genre Rather than playing the smashing hero in the suit, you’re managing heroes—sending them out, dealing with office politics, balancing relationships. It’s a clever twist that makes things feel less cliché. Polygon

3. Strong Writing & Characters The story and characters get a lot of praise. From the first episodes: sharp writing, engaging personalities, and moments of genuine emotional weight. Lords of Gaming+1 Even the comedic tone is held with enough sincerity that the human side, the burnout, the imposter syndrome of the protagonist, comes through.

4. Replayability & Branching. Because of the branching dialogue and dispatch choices, there’s a felt sense of “I want to try that again” — see how things change, how characters react differently. One review says it’s “almost impossible not to replay.” Mama's Geeky

Where It Stumbles

1. Gameplay Depth is Shallow. While the dispatch-mechanic (choosing which hero to send to which job) adds a strategic flavour, many feel it's under-utilised in the early episodes. The core remains dialogue and story. “The dispatching gameplay could use more screen time,” as one review puts it. Lords of Gaming+1

2. Limited Consequence in Early Episodes. Though the game is episodic (eight episodes total), at the time of reviewing, only the first few were out. Some critics note the choices so far haven’t offered big branching outcomes yet. Lords of Gaming+1

3. Episodic Release & Episodes Not All Available. If you pick it up right now, you’ll be playing part of the story—the rest is being released weekly. For some, this may disrupt momentum. PC Gamer

Final Verdict & Recommendation

If I had to assign a rating: 8/10 — strong, creative, well-executed, but with room to grow.

Who should play it:

• Fans of narrative adventures and choice-based games (Telltale, Quantic Dream-type)

• People interested in a different superhero story (the side of the desk job instead of always saving the world)

• Players who enjoy rich characters and good voice acting

Who might skip or wait:

• Those seeking heavy gameplay, combat, or complex mechanics

• Players who don’t like episodic models or waiting for full release

• Anyone not invested in story-first games

Closing Thoughts

Dispatch is one of those rare games where the setting is playful (superhero office shenanigans) but the execution isn’t trivial: it treats characters and story seriously, and the blend of comedy + pathos works. The dispatch-sim layer might feel light for hardcore strategy fans, but it adds enough flavour to elevate it above “just another visual narrative.” For now, as only a few episodes are out, there’s some “so far” caveats, but early signs are very promising.