Seven years after AdHoc Studio was founded by former developers from Telltale Games, Ubisoft, and Night School, the studio has finally released its debut title: **Dispatch**. This original interactive narrative game draws heavy inspiration from the classics that shaped the genre, while building upon them to deliver one of the most compelling narrative experiences I’ve had in years.
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### Rock Bottom
Dispatch follows the story of Robert Robertson, once the popular superhero Mecha Man. A third-generation hero, Robert lives under the shadow of his father and grandfather. After his suit is destroyed during a pursuit of the man who killed his father, Robert finds himself at rock bottom — powerless and adrift.
Now, recruited to join SDN (Superhero Dispatch Network), Robert manages heroes from behind a desk. However, there’s a catch: the team he’s assigned to, the Z-Team, consists entirely of former criminals. SDN’s goal is to rehabilitate these ex-villains and turn them into heroes as part of the “Phoenix Program.”
This premise forms the core narrative hook of Dispatch. As the story unfolds, I grew to love this ragtag group of misfits and their wild escapades. Working with them, Robert himself develops as a hero — even without his suit.
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### Reinvigorated by Exceptional Writing
I went into Dispatch knowing almost nothing about it, but by the end of Chapter 1, I was hooked. AdHoc Studio nails world-building, introducing major characters and raising the stakes in ways that feel natural and engaging.
A key factor is the game’s star-studded voice cast. Robert is voiced by Aaron Paul, famed for his role as Jesse Pinkman in *Breaking Bad*. Alongside him are Laura Bailey (Invisigal), Jeffrey Wright (Chase), and Matthew Mercer (Shroud), each delivering performances filled with emotion and humor. Several Z-Team members are voiced by popular content creators and artists, who also impress with their portrayals.
Dispatch takes a classic Telltale-inspired episodic format, releasing two episodes weekly throughout October and November 2025. While episodic storytelling can be hit-or-miss in games, Dispatch’s pacing is nearly perfect. Each chapter offers impactful decisions, memorable moments, and cliffhangers that make you eager to return.
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### The Power of Choice
As an interactive narrative, Dispatch puts the power in your hands. Your choices—ranging from seemingly trivial decisions, like what to throw at someone in the break room, to critical calls about who gets cut from the Z-Team—shape the path of the story. Your decisions carry real weight.
One standout character is Blonde Blazer, the hero who welcomes you into SDN. She’s a pillar of strength and bravery in the superhero world, and one of the game’s two romance options (the other being Invisigal). Following Blonde Blazer’s storyline is a rewarding experience, offering a fascinating take on a popular superhero archetype. Erin Yvette’s flawless voice performance brings her to life beautifully.
If it sounds like I’m gushing, that’s exactly what Dispatch inspires. It makes you fall in love with its characters in a way few games manage. By the climactic final chapter, my heart was racing as I feared for the wellbeing of the cast I’d grown to cherish.
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### Some Genre Limitations
Dispatch does a great job catering to various playstyles, but it’s not without flaws. Like many interactive narrative games, it suffers from the constraints of a branching story. Certain events are fixed regardless of player choices, which can undercut the feeling of agency—especially when different dialogue options lead to the same outcome after replaying scenes.
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### The Secret Sauce: Music
Before moving on, I want to highlight what I believe is Dispatch’s secret sauce: its music.
AdHoc Studio’s clever curation of indie songs perfectly underscores the game’s best moments. For example, *Deep Dreem’s* “Little Light” closing Episode 4 made me feel like I was levitating, while “Radio” by *Bushy* during the party scene in Episode 6 solidified that sequence as my favorite moment in the game.
The original soundtrack deserves praise as well. Music plays a vital role in the Dispatch experience, and I can’t imagine playing without its carefully selected tunes enhancing the emotional beats.
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### Doing Good Work: Gameplay and Mechanics
From my very first hands-on with Dispatch’s dispatching minigames, I knew this was a cut above most interactive narrative titles.
Amid all the drama and romance, you actually have to do your job: dispatch heroes, assign tasks, and keep the operation running smoothly. In many games, this management aspect would have felt like tedious “vegetables” to get through before dessert. Instead, AdHoc Studio made it engaging.
Dispatch’s gameplay is essentially a management sim set on a map of Los Angeles. As calls come in—from cats stuck in trees, to fights at sports events, to kaiju terrorizing beaches—you send the right heroes to the right jobs.
Each task requires specific traits. For example, if a job calls for someone with good people skills, I’d assign Prism, who has the highest Charisma stat on my team. Your success depends on how well a hero’s attributes match the job.
Successful missions earn characters XP, allowing them to level up and boost stats. Meanwhile, heroes take time to travel, complete tasks, and rest before returning to duty, requiring you to strategize who to send when.
There are also character synergies that encourage pairing specific team members, adding an extra layer of depth.
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### What It Means to Be a Hero
Dispatch was my most pleasant surprise of the year.
In a pop culture world full of superhero parodies and deconstructions, Dispatch carves out its own unique space. Its central message—that anyone can do good regardless of their past—really resonated with me. I admit, the final credit roll got me a little emotional.
On top of that, the game is a hilarious superhero romp with satisfying stories and characters I’m practically begging to see again.
If Dispatch sets the bar for AdHoc Studio’s future, then the interactive narrative genre is in excellent hands.
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### Availability
This review is based on the Steam version of Dispatch. The game is available now for $29.99 USD on PC and PS5.
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Dispatch offers a heartfelt story, compelling gameplay, and memorable characters—an absolute must-play for fans of narrative-driven games and superhero stories alike.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146836/dispatch-review-score
