You would think the concept of a mature superhero story would be played out by now; who has room for yet another ragtag team of outcasts with questionable morals and a habit for swearing, but come together against all odds and become one messed-up found family? And yet, AdHoc Studio’s episodic, choice-based narrative game, Dispatch, has proved me wrong.

Tell-your-own-adventure games are so back

AdHoc’s first game was created by a team of Telltale Games alumni along with other industry veterans, so it makes sense that it manages to capture the spirit of what made Telltale’s stories so memorable in the first place. From the very first episode, I was taken with Dispatch, and it made me realize how much I’ve missed these interactive stories after their long absence.

With its eight-episode runtime, Dispatch is structured like an animated TV series and looks the part, too, with its remarkable animation and fluid art style that pop like the panels of a comic book. Thankfully, though, this isn’t just another run-of-the-mill mature superhero drama that has become popularized these past few years. Yes, it does have the dark humor and violence that are typically present in these stories, but this game manages to successfully set itself apart from shows like Invincible, The Boys, or Peacemaker by being original enough.

Dispatch is workplace comedy and also a redemption story at its core. But it’s not Robert who is looking for it; rather, the team he is forced to take under his wing.

At the SDN, it’s Robert’s job as a dispatcher to oversee the Z-Team, a group of former villains and anti-heroes that have been recruited to do some good. There’s drama, rivalry, and some hilarious interactions to be found with this bunch, as well as frequent sex jokes, but at its core, Dispatch tells a sincere story about second chances and proving to yourself that you’re more than your past mistakes.

Since he’s leading the team, choosing how to approach Robert’s personality is up to the player, and choices will have a rippling effect on those around you. My version of Robert was a compassionate, all-around good guy who believed in his team, and through certain dialogue options, the game does a great job of humanizing these ex-villains through witty banter, corny yet genuinely funny gags, heartfelt moments that offer an insight behind the mask, and the natural familial environment that comes with it all.

While all this is going on, there’s also the looming threat of the primary antagonist, Shroud, voiced by the excellent Matt Mercer. Shroud’s overall presence in the main narrative is lacking until late in the game, and I would have liked to have spent more time exploring his history with Robert. That being said, when he eventually makes his reappearance, his arrival presents an exhilarating conflict that pays off thanks to the game’s solid build-up and how invested I became in rehabilitating the Z-Team.

Similarly, I was hoping for more about Robert’s backstory, too, more so a deeper look into his relationship with his absentee superhero father and what his life was like as Mecha Man before he became entangled with the Z-Team, and it’s something I would love to delve more deeply into in a potential follow-up season.

Clocking in to save the day

As an interactive narrative adventure, Dispatch lets you sit back and watch the story play out while clicking your preferred dialogue options throughout. But outside of this, and executing quicktime event (QTE) scenarios that feel genuinely thrilling when they’re combined with flashy fight scenes, the game offers additional ways to make you feel more involved in creating your preferred world state.

During Robert’s SDN shifts is where the core gameplay takes place and where you must use your wits to strategically assign heroes to missions across LA by matching the requirements to the character traits and their respective attributes for maximum success.

It’s a sort of management sim, with different mission types that present unique challenges, requiring you to use your initiative to figure out the best course of action while also completing a series of hacking mini-games that feel incredibly rewarding when you achieve your tasks.

For players who are looking for a more relaxing time, the game also offers a Cinematic Mode, which disables QTEs during the main story, and an option for unlimited hacking attempts, so there’s no need to stress about messing up and ruining your playthrough.

Missions and hero training also go hand in hand. Depending on your performance during shifts, heroes can earn XP that can be used to level up their attributes, as well as unlock additional skills that increase their chances of top marks.

Synergy abilities between a pair of heroes can also make or break a job, and reaching max synergy will add another major buff to the success rate. Heroes also have specific characteristics that will make them the right fit for a caller’s request, like a runaway train that needs someone with high Vigor and Combat stats; that’s a job for Punch Man or Golem. Having trouble with a demonic threat? Malevola is your best bet.

Personal choices, low morale, and narrative events like someone leaving work early or heroes sabotaging each other can also impact your daily shifts. At one point, the game asks you to pick a new addition to the Z-Team, newcomer Waterboy or the famous Phenomaman, and either choice will have a positive and negative impact on missions due to their attributes.

If you choose Waterboy, he’s a weak character from the start with poor attributes, but he’s a clean slate, meaning you can build him up however you like, and I ended up pouring his XP into making him an agile fighter. On the other hand, if you add Phenomaman to your team, he’s incredibly strong from the start and can complete a variety of missions easily, but he has a terrible debuff that makes him depressed whenever you fail a mission.

The entire concept is an inspired idea that feels like an evolution in the long-standing, tailored narrative genre, offering more autonomy to the player beyond simply selecting certain dialogue options.

Building bonds

The game consists of eight episodes, with every cliffhanger leaving me at the edge of my seat, but, oh, how I wish there were more, if only so I could spend more time with these characters. Before even reaching the finale, every single member of Robert’s circle, whether it be the anxious yet charming Waterboy, the charismatic Prism with her illusion powers, the devil from down under Malevola, or the literal bat man Sonar, had grown on me.

There wasn’t a single member of the Z-Team that I disliked enough to wish I could boot from my team, and that’s mainly thanks to the endearing way each distinctive hero is written and presented within the group, and the fantastic cast that voices them.

The bonds that Robert builds with the Z-Team, as well as the accompanying characters like Chase and Royd, feel so authentic by the final episode that I didn’t want to say goodbye.

But the shining star for me was Invisigal, voiced by the amazing Laura Bailey, an abrasive and complicated ex-thief with a desire to be a hero. Her chemistry with Robert is one of the strongest facets of the game and overall storyline, and she quickly became a standout character among the bunch by matching Aaron Paul’s sarcastic energy, who is also excellent in his role.

Yes, Dispatch also features romance, but it’s not a deeply rooted aspect of the game, unlike other personally tailored adventure games that let you smooch your companions. This isn’t necessarily a negative thing, but your options are very limited to either Invisigal or Blonde Blazer, and both are equally enjoyable as the other.

The thing is, the Z-Team is comprised of a bunch of great personalities that I would have loved to explore in additional playthroughs if given the chance beyond platonic relationships.

Nevertheless, despite being all-in on winning Visi’s heart from the get-go, at times, it felt as if the game was pushing me towards her anyway, so much so that it almost feels like her and Robert are the canon pairing.

There are also many points in the game where your decisions will make or break your potential bond with Visi, and even if you don’t romance her, her prominent role in the narrative presents major repercussions depending on your decisions, including an ambiguous outcome that leaves questions about the possibility of a season 2.

Should you play Dispatch?

Play it if…