REVIEW – It’s rare for an episodic game to be released since the collapse of the original Telltale Games. This one is exceptional — it may be one of the best games of the year. We can ponder what would have happened if we had made different decisions at certain moments. The eight episodes are also highly replayable.

It should be noted that all eight episodes have already been released, so the overall opinion is based on a little over four thousand and six hundred characters.

What’s all the hype about?

As each episode was released, more and more players joined in, and deservedly so. Right at the beginning, we are given a clever tutorial when Mecha Man Shroud breaks into his hideout. In the meantime, we learn about QTEs and decision-making. Our hero fails, of course, so he must stand his ground as Robert because his alter ego’s equipment has been destroyed. Another hero, Blonde Blazer, visits Robert to recruit him for the SDN, a hero subscription service. Robert will now fight indirectly as a dispatcher, and we must decide how to manage the ragtag team.

We do get some gameplay in the dispatcher role: on the map of Torrance, we see emergency calls coming in and must send out the appropriate hero. The better our choice, the greater the chance of success. This allows them to level up and earn skill points that can be used to improve their attributes. Does this part of the gameplay detract from the overall experience? No. In fact, it is what makes AdHoc’s hit stand out from Telltale’s games and ties in nicely with the heroes’ individual stories. Later on, the heroes will sabotage each other, posing a serious challenge for the player.

We need to mention hacking here. It is part of the game, but it may have held the experience back slightly because it shows up in too many products. There is no shortage of puzzles, and they become quite complicated over time, but hacking still feels a bit out of place in this world. On the positive side, the story balances it out nicely. The starting point is familiar, but this time we are the driving force behind the team, and we also have our own story arc that moves forward without a game over, whether we like it or not. Every decision we make pushes the story forward.

This guarantees that we will play through the game at least twice (and it deserves that, no doubt about it). Everything can change drastically depending on whether we tell the team that we used to be Mecha Man and how Flambae reacts to this information. Each episode has its own storyline in addition to the overarching plot spanning all eight parts. One constant throughout the adventure is humor. The game leans toward realism and can be violent, but it also makes you laugh, and it does all this without imitating anything else or trying too hard. If it feels like a sitcom, it’s no coincidence — it really can feel like one.

The mentor isn’t torturous

Dispatch has a simple yet complicated expectation: we are supposed to act as mentors. This will inevitably affect Robert and leads us to reflect on what we did or did not do. Because of this, some things may not stand out at first (this is where replayability comes in handy). One of these might be the fantastic voice acting. It never felt mismatched to the characters and came across as very personal.

As for the animations, we can only give two thumbs up as quickly as possible. AdHoc has already said this is one reason why the game was not cheap to develop, but perhaps it has already turned a profit. The character designs are just as perfect, whether it is the bat or the cat-costumed character. Shroud and his team of bad guys could have received a little more attention, as they seem to take a step back in terms of focus and detail.

All of this is surely being discussed online already. Dispatch is perfect for this: it piques the audience’s interest and makes people want to share their feelings and experiences with each other. AdHoc has managed to inspire warm, heartfelt thoughts in players in today’s hateful world. The studio achieved this without using artificial intelligence in any form, something an increasing percentage of AAA studios (no doubt on publisher orders) are failing to do.

The hit of the end of the year

Dispatch gets a 9/10 without question. It is a masterpiece and is selling so well that the developers are already thinking about a sequel. And this is the studio’s first game! It is difficult to describe the game without resorting to superlatives, but it is simply a well-crafted, high-quality work that proves there is life beyond mass-produced, live-service titles that cost €60–80. For fans of Telltale’s games, it is a must-buy. It runs excellently on PlayStation 5 and PC. Period. We can only congratulate the developers.

-V-

Developer: AdHoc Studio
Publisher: AdHoc Studio
Release date: November 12, 2025
Genre: indie action-adventure