Dispatch Review - Screenshot 1 of 7

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?

The thing about Dispatch is it's not really much of a game in the traditional sense. This is more about watching than interacting, and even compared to the likes of Telltale's adventure titles, it's streamlined to the point where most of the cutscenes are just videos with fake quick time events pasted over them.

But that doesn't mean we're giving Dispatch a big thumbs down. In fact, this is one of those rare occasions where the storytelling and characters come close to carrying the entire experience.

Indeed, this is an extremely tightly written and well directed release, and the pacing's great across all eight episodes, each of which run for roughly an hour or so.

Dispatch Review - Screenshot 2 of 7

By the time we reached the finale, we were endeared to just about every member of the cast. There's some fantastic character development on display here, as a ragtag group of ex-supervillains try to turn their lives around as on-the-clock heroes.

You basically play as their boss, a former hero comically called Robert Robertson. It's your job to ensure that the so-called 'Z-Team' get along, while acting as their radio dispatcher from an office in downtown Los Angeles.

It's a cynical but entertainingly dumb take on the superhero genre, and it's always playing for laughs. It's also surprisingly adult, not just because the script's absolutely packed with swears and dick jokes, but because it doesn't shy away from sexual themes.

Against a backdrop of mostly sanitised storytelling in games, its adult leanings are honestly very refreshing, and it makes the whole superhero thing feel remarkably grounded.

Dispatch Review - Screenshot 3 of 7

So what about the gameplay? What does Dispatch actually want you to do? Well, interactions boil down to three main elements: dialogue choices, minigames, and the aforementioned quick time events.

Starting with the dialogue decisions, this is where you determine the story's direction. Well, kind of. While there are a number of choices that do have a dramatic impact on how the narrative eventually plays out, most of your decisions are just about adding flavour.

You'll often be met with a classic "[character] will remember that" message when making an important choice, but the overall plot will always be moving in a singular direction. You're really just swapping out scenes and characters as you progress.

But again, Dispatch manages to pull it all off. It's certainly not Baldur's Gate 3 in terms of choice and consequence, but as a much more casual narrative experience, there are just enough moving parts to make it feel as though you're influencing the story.

Dispatch Review - Screenshot 4 of 7

And then there are the minigames — one of which is a key component in the title's structure.

As the Z-Team's dispatcher, you'll spend chunks of every episode sitting in front of Robert's workplace computer, coordinating your unlikely allies as they answer emergency calls from across the city.

It's essentially an exercise in resource management. You need to pick the right Z-Teamers for each job that pops up on the map, ensuring that their skills are a good fit for the current crisis.

Naturally, each member of the group has their own strengths, weaknesses, and specialist traits that play into your overall chance of success. Completing jobs allows your would-be heroes to level up, letting you bolster their stats in a bid to cultivate a well-balanced team.

Dispatch Review - Screenshot 5 of 7

The fun lies in having to juggle your collection of weirdos; they take time to reach a destination, carry out their orders, and then return to Dispatch HQ. They'll be temporarily unavailable until they're rested for a handful of seconds.

As you can imagine, it can all get a bit chaotic when you're having to make do with ill-fitting solutions because your best and brightest are sat on a cooldown — but play it smart, and the system becomes fiendishly addictive.

Our only criticism of the dispatcher minigame is the user interface, which is clearly designed with either mouse and keyboard or touchscreens in mind. For the most part it does work on a controller, but when the map gets particularly busy in later episodes, actually moving between icons is far too fiddly on a d-pad or analog stick. Not ideal when time is of the essence...

Dispatch Review - Screenshot 6 of 7

Now then, back on the topic of quick time events, they are, as mentioned, pretty much illusionary. They pop up during fight scenes but they very rarely hold any weight. In fact, you can turn them off completely in the options menu, and just watch the largely superb animation play out.

From what we can tell, succeeding QTEs just nets you some extra points on the player stats that show up at the end of every episode. A cheeky lack of consequence, but you can let it slide when the action looks this good.

Indeed, Dispatch's level of presentation is off the charts. It's expertly animated, hitting heights that are usually reserved for big budget projects from major streaming platforms — except you've got a say in how (some) scenes progress.

Before we jump to the conclusion of this review, we should touch on Dispatch's sense of humour, which admittedly won't be for everyone.

Dispatch Review - Screenshot 7 of 7

Obviously, comedy is a hugely subjective thing. If you're not a fan of copious amounts of swearing and regular references to current cultural trends, you'll probably bounce off Dispatch within a matter of minutes — it won't matter if the characters strike a chord or not. It's very American and it's very quippy.

Fortunately, we do find that the voice acting saves the script when it stumbles down an eye-rolling road or two. There are some cringe-inducing lines here and there that are utterly carried by fantastic voicework. In particular, Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul keeps Robert nice and real, despite the sheer amount of cheese that's on display.

Conclusion

Assuming your tastes align with the game's comedic beats, Dispatch is a damn good time. While it's very light on meaningful gameplay, it tells a brilliantly paced, consistently entertaining superhero story that touches on some refreshingly adult themes.