Is there a more infamous monkey's paw wish than the collective wish that all our favorite games could last forever? Well, the finger is crooked because it seems like every major game publisher in the world only wants to create games that go on forever.
With the advent of live-service games, it's become difficult to know when to put down the controller, especially when games like Fortnite release seasonal content like the Simpsons season pass that asks you to play long enough to unlock stupidly sexy Flanders. Thankfully, episodic games have returned, perfectly broken up into bite-sized chunks to save us from the endless grind.
In this case, I'm talking specifically about Dispatch, the new episodic superhero game from AdHoc Studio. If the name isn't familiar to you, AdHoc is a new gaming company founded by former members of Ubisoft, Night School and, perhaps most notably, Telltale Games, which exploded onto the episodic gaming scene with 2012's The Walking Dead. The studio later closed due to a variety of internal and external factors, some of which I had previously covered as a reporter. But by then, the episodic game formula was starting to feel a little stale, and the mood seemed to be shifting towards more full-on single-player games or the first live-service games we know today.
But these days, people crave games that give them a sense of accomplishment as they roll the credits, but don't require the time commitment that most games require. Dispatch is a perfect rip-off of old cable TV shows, with each episode sticking to a winning formula that never fails to please.
The film takes place in modern-day Los Angeles (except in this version of the city, where real-life superheroes work together in a private security firm). Dispatch is best perceived as a workplace comedy. Think The Office crossed with The Boys. Players are asked to make both small and large choices as the hero Robert Robertson III, which will not only determine his identity, but will also have serious consequences for the development of the story. A short intro sets the stage for the episode's plot, with an interactive dispatch simulator in the middle, followed by the big finale, needle drop, and credits roll. A bit cliched, but so was television in the pre-prestige television era.
In addition to the TV tie-in, Dispatch's fully voiced storyline features a great cast of TV alumni, including Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul, Westworld's Jeffrey Wright, and, through a partnership with Critical Role, fan-favorite voice actors like Laura Bailey and Matt Mercer.
Over the past week, playing Dispatch has become a nightly ritual: After dinner, I'll head to the office to watch an episode of Dispatch and then return to the living room to do something else in the evening. Like any television season, Dispatch is broken up into eight episodes, each about an hour long, not counting the end credits. While there's always an urge to keep moving forward and jump straight into the next episode, each section was so perfectly calibrated for a single gaming session that I could leave the next episode for the next night and not feel a twinge of anxiety or FOMO. If anything, I could spend some time thinking about the decisions I made in the previous episode, many of which seem weighty and significant.
I don't want to give the wrong impression of Dispatch by constantly comparing it to television. Dispatch is first and foremost a game, and a damn good one at that. The hero management simulator alone is worthy of praise, and ironically, it's one I could play forever. But Dispatch exudes confidence in the right direction. They know exactly when to give you credit, knowing full well that you'll be satisfied leaving the game until next week when new episodes are due out.
Dispatch's combination of talent, writing, and production makes for a powerful blend, and a truly satisfying one at that, which isn't a description I've used for many games this year. You should read Positive review from GameSpot sure, but Dispatch seems to have hit the perfect chord with players, selling 2 million copies. A big success for a new IP from a brand new studio, and while I could go on and on about how Dispatch was the surprise hit of the year for me, the best thing about my time with it was that I spent quite a bit of time with it. Or rather, I spent the perfect amount of time with him.
