Seven years after AdHoc Studio was founded by former Telltale Games, Ubisoft, and Night School developers, the studio has released its debut title. Dispatch is an original interactive narrative game that takes heavy inspiration from the games that made the genre a mainstay, and builds on them to deliver one of the best narrative experiences I’ve had in years. Rock bottom Dispatch follows the story of Robert Robertson, who was once the popular superhero Mecha Man. A third generation hero, Robert lives in the shadow of his dad and grandfather. After his suit is destroyed during his pursuit of the man who killed his father, Robert finds himself at rock bottom. Now powerless, he’s recruited to join SDN (Superhero Dispatch Network), where he’ll manage heroes from behind a desk. The catch, however, is that the team Robert is assigned to-the Z-Team-are all former criminals. SDN is seeking to rehabilitate these ex-villains and make them heroes as part of the “Phoenix Program.” This is where Dispatch finds its narrative hook. Over the course of the story, I grew to love this crew of misfits and their shenanigans. Conversely, working with them develops Robert as a hero himself, even if he no longer has his suit. Reinvigorated I was blown away by Dispatch’s exceptional writing. I went into this game knowing essentially nothing about it, and by the end of Chapter 1, I was hooked. AdHoc does an amazing job at establishing this world, its major players, and the stakes at hand. A lot of this is bolstered by Dispatch’s star-studded cast of actors. Robert is voiced by Aaron Paul, famous for his role as Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad. Alongside him are Laura Bailey (Invisigal), Jeffrey Wright (Chase), and Matthew Mercer (Shroud). They’re all phenomenal, nailing all of the emotion and humor that a story like this demands. Several Z-Team members are voiced by content creators and artists, all of which I was impressed by. In classic Telltale fashion, Dispatch used an episodic format, with two episodes releasing weekly throughout October and November 2025. It’s a format that can be incredibly hit-or-miss when applied to video games, but the pacing of each Dispatch episode is nearly perfect. Every chapter has impactful decisions, unforgettable moments, and teases that made me eager to come back the following week. As an interactive narrative game, Dispatch puts the power to influence the story in the hands of players. The narrative will branch in various directions based on your actions and the way you respond to characters. This could be as simple as choosing what kind of food to throw at someone in the break room, or deciding who gets cut from the Z-Team. Dispatch makes you feel the weight of your choices, and this brings me to my favorite character in the game, Blonde Blazer. The character who brings you into the fold at SDN, Blonde Blazer is a pillar of strength and bravery in the superhero community. She’s also one of the game’s two romance options (alongside Invisigal), and following her storyline was one of the game’s more rewarding decisions. It’s a fascinating breakdown of a popular superhero archetype, anchored by a flawless performance from Erin Yvette. If it sounds like I’m gushing. that’s what Dispatch does to you. It makes you fall in love with a cast of characters in a way few games are able to achieve. By the time I got to the game’s climactic final chapter, my heart was beating out of my chest as I feared for the wellbeing of all these characters I’d come to adore. While Dispatch does a great job at satisfying most playstyles, it suffers from the same issues that have plagued the interactive narrative genre since its inception. The constraints of a branching narrative mean that some story events are guaranteed to happen, regardless of your input. It can undercut some of the decisions, especially when you replay an episode and realise that all three dialogue options in a scene eventually lead to the same outcome. Tuning in Before moving on, I want to shine a light on what I believe to be the secret sauce of Dispatch: music. Specifically the indie songs that someone at AdHoc was brilliant enough to find and apply to the game’s best moments. Deep Dreem’s “Little Light” at the end of Episode 4 made me feel like I was levitating. Hearing “Radio” by Bushy during the party scene in Episode 6 solidified it as my favorite scene in the entire game. This is also true of the game’s original soundtrack, which I don’t want to sell short. Music is pertinent to the Dispatch experience, and I can’t imagine the experience of playing it without hearing its carefully curated soundtrack and OST. Doing good work I knew Dispatch was a cut above many of its interactive narrative processors the first time I went hands-on with its dispatching minigames. Between all of the drama and romance, you have to actually do your job of dispatching heroes, assigning them to tasks, and keeping everything organized. In a lot of games like this, this could have easily been the boring part, the vegetables you have to finish before you can have dessert. However, AdHoc found a way to make this part of the game compelling too. Dispatch gameplay is essentially a management sim. You stare at a map of Los Angeles, and as calls come in from citizens in need, you send the right hero to the job. From cats stuck in trees, to fights at sporting events, to kaiju terrorizing a beach, there’s no shortage of people in need. Each task will require specific characteristics, and you have to use your knowledge of the Z-Team to figure out the best fit. For example, if a job called for someone who needed to do some talking, I’d send Prism, since she had the highest Charisma stat on my team. Your success rate is then dependent on how close the character’s attributes fit the job you sent them to. On a success, characters earn XP and will eventually level up, allowing you to increase one of their stats. This is also where the management side comes in. It takes time for heroes to physically travel to and from a job. After completing a task, they’ll need to rest for a while before they can be sent out again. You have to carefully strategize who you send on jobs, and when. If you immediately throw as many heroes as possible at the first jobs that pop up, you won’t have anyone capable of taking what comes after. Characters also have synergies that incentivize specific pairs, adding another layer of strategy. What it means to be a hero Dispatch is my most pleasant surprise this year. In a pop culture landscape that’s littered with superhero parodies and deconstructions, Dispatch manages to carve its own unique path. The message that anyone is capable of doing good, regardless of where they came from or the mistakes they’ve made in the past, truly resonated with me. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get a little emotional during the final credit roll. On top of that, it’s a hilarious superhero romp with satisfying storylines and characters that I am practically begging to see again. If this is the standard of quality that we can expect from AdHoc Studio, the interactive narrative genre is in good hands. This review is based on the Steam version of Dispatch. Dispatch is available now for $29. 99 USD on PC and PS5.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146836/dispatch-review-score
Dispatch review: All in a day’s work
