Do you remember Telltale Games? The studio died, but the developers did not.
A part of the old team made AdHoc studio, and they just brought us a new interactive movie.
Dispatch – Episodic Superhero Strategy Game Launch
The newest game from some of the people who worked on The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, and Tales from the Borderlands is finally here. Manage a team of misfit heroes and send them to fight the crime, but think twice before you take action – each choice has lasting consequences and may spell disaster for the entire city if you don’t take your job seriously.
Dispatch was released on October 22 as an episodic game, with two episodes available at launch and two more announced to be released every week for a total of 8 episodes. The final episodes are scheduled to be released on November 12.
The game has an optional Digital Deluxe Edition that provides access to the full game of Dispatch and includes a digital artbook with over 100 pages of illustrations and 4 digital comics with 6 stories.
What is Dispatch?
Dispatch is a graphic adventure that describes itself as a “superhero workplace comedy”. It’s set in a modern-day Los Angeles, where you’ll be playing as an ex-superhero, Mecha Man, who’s been stripped of his powers. However, his will to fight the crime has not been extinguished, and when he’s offered a job at a superhero dispatch center, he decides to take it, hoping that it will allow him to eventually get revenge against those who are responsible for his current situation.
Dispatch is a game where choices matter; depending on how you talk to the people and how you deal with the criminals and other unexpected events, the story of your character and the relationships you build will be different, affecting the entire gameplay experience.
The gameplay is split into two main parts: interactive cutscenes with selectable dialogue options and a simple strategy game with superhero management, where you’ll be responsible for choosing which superheroes should respond to the call for help. In both parts, you’ll have to make difficult choices and live with the consequences.
Interactive Movie and Episodic Format – Yay or Nay?
Episode-based release was not everyone’s cup of tea, and it met with some criticism from the people who were arguing that if they pay full price on release, they want to be able to play the full game. It’s a reasonable take, but the company is open about it and doesn’t hide its episodic approach – they’re fully transparent, and thus it feels that blaming them for doing so is not justified.
Even though some people don’t like it, the episodic format does have its strengths as it helps to build anticipation as people are waiting for the next episode, just like with TV series and anime shows. It also gives people time to digest what they have experienced and gives them some room for making theories and predictions about what’s coming next, try to guess who’s the good guy and who’s the bad guy, and so on. Contrary to popular belief, we do love to engage in this kind of stuff, and it builds hype.
Dispatch, being more like an interactive movie than an actual game, also received some backlash, mainly from the people who expected a more action-oriented title in the likes of Deadpool and those who haven’t played any Telltale games before. There’s simply not much gameplay in Dispatch, and it doesn’t feel like a proper game; it requires a completely different mindset to be fully appreciated and enjoyed.
Dispatch – Community Reception of the Superhero Narrative Sim
All the criticisms aside, the game was warmly received, especially by those who were familiar with Telltale Games and their previous works. As of now, Dispatch comfortably sits at 86% upvoted reviews on Steam, showing that the general reception was very positive. For a day, it even surpassed Counter-Strike 2 on the Top Sellers chart.
It was to be expected from the veterans of the graphic adventure genre; the game is a highly polished work and an absolute masterpiece in writing, adult humor, and voice acting. The characters are very charismatic and likeable, and the art style is on point. You won’t regret giving it a try.