There are debates in game studies that have been mercifully put to rest. There are debates in game studies that rage on and will likely outlast us all. Then there’s the secret third option, which are “debates” that everyone knows don’t have or need a clear answer, but make for excellent banter. “Is a [blank] actually a game”, where “blank” stands for visual novel/truck simulator/idle clicker, is in this delightful category, and Dispatch is the kind of game that brings it to mind.
Dispatch is an adventure game released in eight narrative episodes by AdHoc Studio in collaboration with Critical Role. You play as Robert, an ex-superhero turned superhero dispatcher at an organization that, you guessed it, dispatches superheroes to save civilians from danger (or from the wrong coffee order, depending).
Between beautifully animated cutscenes that prompt branching dialogue options, the functional “gameplay” mode of Dispatch is a map-based strategic superhero deployment exercise. Each superhero has various strengths and weaknesses, so they’re better suited to some scenarios than others. Successful deployments give you ability points, which you can spend to even the odds or turn your team into a hyper-specialized toolkit. Obviously one mathy minigame isn’t enough, so in between deployments, Robert is occasionally tasked with “hacking” a computer- or malware-based threat. These gameplay modes have gotten some flack online for being “boring” contrasted with the evocative, immersive narrative scenes. But personally, I love getting the chance to be the guy in the chair and still experiencing an action-packed storyline. Combat is dicey for me, as anyone who’s seen me play on stream can attest; I get overwhelmed easily, and tend to perceive the stakes as being far higher than they are. But the way that Dispatch leans into its UI-within-a-UI setup makes it approachable and…friendlier, as a game.
The creators clearly have love for animation and attention to detail, and the story plays out like a beloved AdultSwim procedural a la Archer or Bojack, with a star-studded voice cast and a great score that knows how to tone things down and get grandiose when the moment calls for it.
It’s not a perfect game–some endings are clearly better thought out than others, and some of the capital c Consequences that echo through later episodes feel like cheap rug-pulls for what’s otherwise a balanced and nuanced story. But I’m delighted by how enjoyable this game has been for me to not only watch, but also play. And, to answer the question of whether it’s a game: CR’s partnership with AdHoc now includes plans for an animated series, which gives us a clear proven negative to this game’s positive. If anyone needs me, I’ll be in a corner, eating my cake and having it. And uh, “hacking” the “mainframe”.
Keerthi Sridharan is a PhD candidate in the Playful Time Machines project looking at player experience in historical video games. They are currently working on editing a chapter draft, reporting statistics, transcript analysis, and getting ready for rehearsals…
