When you first settle in to play Dispatch, you might wonder if you’ve turned on an episode of Invincible, the Prime Video animated series based on Robert Kirkman’s comic. And while Dispatch certainly looks to be taking heavy inspiration from the art style of the show, it creates a unique world of superheroes and, for better or worse, puts you in charge of them. Dispatch is a management sim set in a world where superheroes are so common, they have their own personal 911-style dispatch center to send heroes wherever needed. I’m a sucker for management sims, so it was an easy sell. I play too many of them already and have no intention of slowing down, with most of my sim time going to Mars Attracts currently. At least, that is, until Dispatch arrived.
Dispatch is told over eight episodes — the first two are available now — and puts you in the role of a dispatcher working for the Superhero Dispatch Network (SDN) to solve a number of problems. These range from PR disasters to store robberies, to simply sending someone on a case because he’s dying to meet the person that called in. As the dispatcher, you analyze the emergencies, decide which heroes to send, and when things inevitably go wrong, it’s up to you to find solutions.
While that all sounds like the makings of a pretty good management sim, Dispatch really comes to life when you’re off the clock. It’s then that the game takes on the style of a visual novel, with dialogue choices and quick-time events that enrich the story and world around you. (Rest assured, you can toggle off quick-time events.) It’s here that the game reminds me of a Telltale game, which tracks given that developer AdHoc Studio was co-founded by four Telltale alumni. While dialogue scenes mostly consist of static imagery or quick-time events, the Invincible-like animation style and graphic sense of humor bring it to life.
And in that world, you’re not some nameless dispatcher. You’re Robert Robertson, a semi-retired hero without powers who dons a robot suit to become Mecha Man.
It’s a lot like how Tony Stark became Iron Man, except you’re not rich, inherited the suit from your dad, and can no longer afford to fix it, leading to an early retirement. That’s where SDN comes in, offering to fix the suit in exchange for your administrative services.
After playing through the first two episodes of the game, I have no clue where the story is headed, but I’m going to keep playing until I find out. Usually, when I log into a management sim, I let my brain clock out and focus on the tiny details of resource management and making sure nothing is going horribly wrong. With Dispatch, I still keep a keen eye on those things, but I find myself caring about the NPCs more that usual. They’re actual characters with traits, emotions, thoughts, and often an insult to sling my way. (I’m the new guy, so it’s expected.)
And I also want them to care about me, whether it’s former-supervillain-turned-superhero Invisigal, your branch’s leader/potential love interest Blonde Blazer, or even Chase, a former superhero that used to work with your dad during his time as Mecha Man. Characters like these add a good dose of connection to the proceedings. Suddenly, I care about which heroes I’m sending to which emergencies. One early call saw an innocent bystander wind up dead due to a miscommunication between myself and a hero. While it didn’t resonate with the hero, it certainly did with my character — and me, personally. I immediately wondered if I could save scum my way back to fixing that choice before deciding to accept it and move forward.
The compelling story layered atop the management sim elements helps Dispatch to stand tall. It’s a huge breath of fresh air that I hope other developers take note of in the future. And since it’s a close-ended story that will wrap up after six episodes, that means I don’t have to worry about getting too sucked into the management portion of the game.
However, it also means I’ll be out of stories to play soon. So, hopefully, Dispatch 2 is in the works. And if not, at least we know this team is partnered with Critical Role for a game based on those adventures. And if that game is anything like this one, I’m sold.
