Dispatch

If you love the grounded side of superhero fiction, the real people living under all that cape-and-chaos, Dispatch might be your next obsession. From the minds behind Critical Role, this half–visual novel, half–dispatch sim lets you juggle emergency calls, office drama, and superpowered coworkers. Just remember: HR doesn't look kindly on incinerating your coworkers.

Video games have been trying to compete with film for years. Some developers hire A-list actors, pile on cinematic spectacle, and chase Hollywood flash like a cartoon coyote chasing its prey. While trying to compete with film, games have often adopted the language of cinema. Dispatch offers an alternative. Instead of imitating movies, it borrows liberally from prestige television, showcasing character-driven storytelling, slow-burn drama, and high emotional stakes that tighten with every epis...

It only takes playing through one or two episodes of Dispatch to realise that this superhero comedy-drama has bags of potential. But spread between a total of eight instalments, does it stick the landing?

Criticisms about the illusion of choice and dialogue aside, Dispatch is off to a decently strong start. Even if my decisions really don’t matter in the long run, I’m still interested to see where Robert’s journey takes him and try out more dispatch jobs. Hopefully, there’ll be more interesting plot diversions and consequences resulting from my decisions, but those can be made up for if the overall plot, like a superhero arriving to save the day, sticks the landing.

Dispatch is no repeat of the tired, mature superhero story, but rather a heartfelt adventure about former villains looking for a second chance. With a cast of lovable characters voiced by an all-star cast, impressive interactive gameplay, and all wrapped in a gorgeous animated art style, AdHoc Studio's debut title is the underdog of the year that has reopened the door that I thought was long closed on the episodic, choice-based narrative genre.