Dispatch Turns Superhero Chaos Into a Telltale-Style Management Sim — Episodes 1–2 Out Now
Dispatch is an episodic management sim about running a superhero 911-style dispatch center, and the first two episodes are available now. The game mixes resource and personnel management with visual-novel style scenes, and it was developed by AdHoc Studio.
Gameplay
Dispatch combines a *management sim* layer with a narrative layer. On the management side, you work at the Superhero Dispatch Network (SDN) and assign heroes to incidents. For example, emergencies include PR problems, store robberies, and personal requests. You analyze calls, choose which heroes to send, and deal with the fallout when things go wrong.
Meanwhile, when you are off the clock the game switches to a visual-novel style. In those segments you get dialogue choices and quick-time events. Importantly, quick-time events can be toggled off, according to the review.
Art and tone
The game uses a bold, animated art style that the reviewer says looks similar to the Prime Video series Invincible. In addition, Dispatch blends static imagery with moments of animation and leans on a graphic sense of humor. As a result, the presentation aims to feel like a superhero workplace comedy while still supporting the management gameplay.
Story and episodes
The player character is named Robert Robertson, a semi-retired hero who becomes Mecha Man by wearing a robot suit he inherited from his father. SDN hires him in part because they will repair the suit in exchange for his administrative work. That setup links the personal story to the dispatch role.
Regarding structure, the review states that the first two episodes are available now. However, the same write-up refers to different final episode counts at separate points: it mentions both an eight-episode run and a close-ended story that will wrap after six episodes. In short, the game is episodic and the first two episodes are released, while reported total episode counts in the review differ.
Developer and future projects
Dispatch was developed by AdHoc Studio. The review notes that AdHoc was co-founded by four alumni of Telltale Games. Separately, the team is partnered with Critical Role on a different game project, according to the article.
Reviewer experience and notes
The reviewer says they quickly grew invested in the characters, naming figures like Invisigal, Blonde Blazer, and Chase. They also describe a specific event in which a miscommunication led to an innocent bystander’s death; that moment affected the reviewer’s play decisions, including whether to reload a save.
Additionally, the reviewer mentions spending most of their sim time with Mars Attracts before Dispatch arrived. They report that Dispatch’s narrative elements increased their attachment to the in-game heroes and made the dispatch choices feel more consequential.
