Dispatch Preview: Where The Boys Meets The Office (PC)

If you’re like me – well first off, I’m so sorry – but secondly,  that means you overanalyze your entertainment, often to the detriment of its enjoyability.  I’ll look at violating physics, OSHA guidelines, and Federal law and start making an internal list. Fortunately, it seems, so did the wonderful creators of Dispatch, the game where you get to peek behind the proverbial mask of superheroes to see how they handle their 9-5. From workplace romance to breakroom squabbles, it’s more than just sending heroes to save the day.

If you think Dispatch is going to be like some of those other dispatcher sims, you’re very mistaken. From the start the game lets you know this is a weird world and you’re just trying to find your role in it. (Your… Critical Role, perhaps? Eh? Eh?) Like a hybrid between a resource dispatcher sim and a visual novel, you’ll find yourself racing time to hack, settle disputes, and even decide whether you’re grabbing Twinkies or Ho-Hos from the breakroom vending machine. The action is always fresh and the story – which is the star of this show, let’s not pretend otherwise – is superb. And with it coming out in episodes, you’ll have plenty of time between chapters to go back and replay things again to see what else might happen if you made different choices.

Dispatch releases in weekly episode drops with the full game available November 12, 2025 on Steam for $29.99.

Story – Meanwhile… at the Breakroom of Justice!

I have to make something absolutely clear about Dispatch before we get too far in. The story is the point. You’re not playing this to swing through New York City on webs or punch Lex Luthor in his face. You’re playing this game to feel something. To laugh. To scream how unfair things are when you have to make hard decisions. For that reason, I can only tell you so much about the story.

This game is big on emotional involvement. Dispatch casts you as Robert Robertson, third in line to the name of Mecha Man (think Iron Man but poor as heck!) It’s very easy to quickly insert yourself into the role, though. Robert is fun, memorable, and loveable. He rides a thin line between disappearing like a nameless RPG protagonist and taking over the show like a platformer mascot. You become Robert. Your decisions are his decisions and no matter what you choose, they all make sense.

Welcome to the SDN. Breakroom’s on the left. Super Suit Repair is in the Basement.

All in a Day’s Work

Villains trash Robert’s mech suit in a dangerous mission, leaving him powerless.  Turns out Iron Man suits are expensive! Who knew? But right when everything seems to be going wrong, SDN – the Superhero Dispatch Network –  offers him a new job: Dispatcher at SDN – Superhero Dispatch Network.  It’s a perfect fit with his background as a superhero – or so it seems. But since the SDN is offering to fix up his suit in exchange him helping with a little… problem, it seems to be a good deal.

SDN assigns you to the Phoenix Project – a group of rejects that are all one botched mission away from a prison sentence. Every member of your team is unique and with voices like Charlie from MoistCr1TiKaL, they’re super memorable, too. Each one is a former villain or otherwise a hero reject – ergo the name Phoenix Project. You manage their missions, coordinate team-ups,  and deal with all the crap a group of misfits who hate you can throw your way. Filled with profanity, high-school level insults, and even the occasional nudity, Dispatch’s story will test your patience with this misfits – but in the best possible way. 

Flambae actually looks better with spaghetti as a costume accessory.

Gameplay – Choose Your Own Adventures… and Snacks

Dispatch is broken into two basic phases: story and dispatching. During your story segments you have the occasional (and optional) quick time events along with Telltale-esque timed choices. Because both play so differently, I’m going to break them up for better explanations.

Story-Mode – Breakroom Banter

If you’ve played a Telltale game, you know the basic mechanics of how Dispatch works. Beautifully animated scenes, emotionally driven dialogue, and comedic gold all sprinkled with just a few QTEs and decision trees to keep you engaged.  You have to pay attention, though. The story beats are so immersive that on more than one occasion I almost missed a timed dialogue choice. 

Like any good visual novel, your choices have consequences. When you first meet Blonde Blazer, your choice to remain professional or possibly flirt with her can have ramifications not just immediately, but in later chapters. Dispatch is all about decisions that ripple through the narrative. Do you fist bump your new co-worker at the urinal or maintain proper bathroom etiquette? You never know what might come back to bite you until that anxiety-inducing “Blonde Blazer will remember that…” pops up in the corner.

Best, and somehow, worst of all, the story loves delivering impossible choices. You will have to decide big, heart-wrenching things, such as chapter 3. Right from the start, Dispatch dangles the Sword of Damacles over your head. By the end of the day you have to fire one of the weirdos you’ve worked so hard to gain respect from. It’s the kind of story that keeps your hand on the mouse and your heart in your throat.

Malevola has… anger issues.

Dispatch-Mode – Save Subscribers with Superpowers

For the second half of the gameplay, you don the coveted dispatcher headset and boot up your Apple Macintosh Classic from 1993.  Subscribers pay your company for access to heroes, so sometimes you’re sending someone to stop a robbery and sometimes your flying assassin has to put together IKEA furniture. Dispatch manages to keep the action from getting stale with a lovely mixture of banter, mission variety, and hacking opportunities.

If you’ll remember from before, these heroes are barely heroes. Sometimes they go off without orders. Occasionally they sabotage one another. Sometimes they just flat out ignore you. What should be a simple recipe for fun often devolves into chaos – but the best kind of chaos! Dispatch leaves you wondering when the other shoe will drop, when someone will do something stupid and ruin your whole day. 

Fortunately, you have a little leeway. You can unlock items to speed up hero resting time and successful missions grant your heroes upgrades. You’ll quickly learn who’s good at what missions and which heroes don’t play well together. But even when you screw up, the game is so fun you may not even care! Dispatch has a special way of making even the roughest parts fun. 

Yes, you are working on a computer from 1993. Why do you ask?

Audio & Graphics – Icing on the Cake

I have nothing but praise for Dispatch’s aesthetics. From the moment you load in the game, the art and the music wrap you in animation that is not only stylized and smooth, but feels reminiscent of Bruce Timm’s animated Batman. It’s gorgeous, it’s immersive, and it seals the deal on a game where aesthetics really are everything.

When you do a game that relies heavily on animation, one where you influence the story but don’t directly control the characters, flow is everything. If I choose throw a punch and the scene has to flash to black for a second to load up the next clip, I’m out. But Dispatch is not only beautiful in looks, it’s buttery smooth. Every QTE, every dialogue option, they all flow perfectly into one another weaving an experience that would feel at home on a Saturday morning cartoon. Well, if it wasn’t for the cursing and nudity.

As for the music? Gorgeous. Nothing stands out as the song, but it all builds wonderfully, wrapping Dispatch’s story up in a little ball of musical compliment. That is it say, what you see on screen is expertly complimented by the sound effects, the music, and the stellar voice acting. The entire package comes together to build this world where superheroes spend their break time mulling over snack food in the vending machine. And I love it. 

Dispatch was reviewed on PC with a key provided by ICO Publishing.