It can be tough to do a Telltale-style interactive story. It's rare for a title to hit all of the marks as well as the original The Walking Dead did. The episodic nature of the games can make it easy to get disengaged, lower-budget visuals can lessen the impact of certain scenes, and the writing may not be up to snuff. That is why Dispatch is such a delight. This superhero-themed story is the closest experience I've had with an interactive game feeling like an episodic TV series without compromising the quality of the work, and it's one of the most enjoyable games I've played this year.

Dispatch is set in a world of superheroes, and in particular follows the story of Robert Robertson III. Robert's family is three generations deep into being the superhero Mecha Man, pilot of a giant and potent suit of power armor. When going after the supervillain who killed his father, Robert's suit is damaged beyond repair, and he's left with all the skills of a hero but none of the powers. That is when he's offered a deal: Serve as the liaison and dispatcher for a group of former supervillains-turned-superheroes. Not only will he get to put his skills to use, but they would also find a way to repair his damaged suit and return him to the superhero game.

Dispatch doesn't necessarily break new ground for the superhero genre, but it executes its concept very well. Taking a group of former villain ne'er-do-wells and doing your best to help them find a place in society feels more compelling than if you were starting off with the Justice League. The characters aren't the deepest, but there's enough sympathy and nuance to make you care when about a tough choice or doing something that might upset them.

Most importantly, it's just fun. I frequently laughed, I enjoyed the banter, and when it was time for things to get serious, I was invested in the characters and their plights. When it was time to make a tough choice involving the team or think about when to be honest and when to spare someone's feelings, I actually hesitated for a moment. Dispatch could easily be a television series, but it makes good use of the interactive elements of storytelling to make choices hit harder and engage with characters I'd otherwise gloss over.

The only potential sticking point I can see for some people is that the humor is crude. This isn't so much a criticism as a warning, since the game starts with a full-on fistfight against a supervillain who is letting his "Iron Man" hang free, and it goes on from there, up to and including some pretty graphic sex scenes. It leans heavily into the crude and violent aspect of superhero parody, which leads to some great humor that fits the concept, but be prepared for the game to earn that "M" rating.

Most of Dispatch's gameplay is told in the form of interactive story segments, which basically play out like a television show. In tried-and-true interactive fiction style, you'll occasionally be tasked with making one of a series of dialogue options that can change how segments play out. This can range from determining when to dodge a punch to deciding if it's worth flirting with a co-worker.

Between the dialogue segments, The tore gameplay of Dispatch is distinct and interesting. You are in charge of dispatching the various "heroes" to tasks by selecting them as they pop up on a map. Upon doing so, the chosen character will move there, complete the task, and return to base, at which time they'll need to rest and recover. How successful they are depends on how well suited they are for a specific task, with some tasks allowing you to deploy two or more heroes at any given time.

Each emergency that pops up has a little bubble that gives you a quick overview of the situation, such as warning you that a radio interview might need someone who is capable of being diplomatic or a car accident needs someone who can get there quickly. Each of the cast members has specific things they're good or bad at. For example, the former assassin Coupe is great at combat and incredibly mobile but awful at situations involving raw strength, while the diminutive-but-fierce Punchup has stamina to burn and charisma for days but isn't a problem-solver.

In addition, each character also has specific situations they're good at. For example, light-controlling Prism is also a pop star and can burst into song to solve problems that she might not normally have the stats for. The demonic Malevola's evil-looking visage can make cultists give up instantly. As the game progresses, characters unlock further skills, such as Invisigal reaching missions faster if she's alone, or Sonar the Bat-Man transforming between an intellectual form and brute form for every mission. You even gain the ability to level them up or occasionally unlock special skills, such as deciding between sending Coupe or Sonar to learn how to fly.

This core gameplay is fun on its own merits, but it gets more engaging once the plot gets involved. Most missions involve not just wrangling the correct person for the job but also the idiosyncrasies of the various cast members. One stage involves you dealing with the fact that all of the would-be heroes are trying to outdo one another by sabotaging each other's missions. Alternately, you might send a pyromaniac to handle a fire only to discover he made it worse, and now you need to scramble to fix it. Even if you know your characters' talents, you also need to know their personalities.

This basic dispatch gameplay is incredibly fun; it's fun enough that I would play an entire game comprised of nothing but the dispatch missions — as long as they are accompanied by strong writing and character beats. There's something deeply satisfying about figuring out how to wrangle the exact right collection of character traits to succeed at a mission. I genuinely wanted to do well, and that matters a lot.

Perhaps the only real flaw is that it's pretty much a one-and-done puzzle rather than something that's more freeform. While there's some variation in how things happen, pretty much every set of missions is something you solve. Going back for a second replay or to try to fix your mistakes would be a far simpler task. I don't think this is a bad thing for a narrative-driven game like Dispatch, and it matters that the gameplay holds up well. The only reason it's a flaw is that I like the concept so much that I wish I could play more of it.

It helps that Dispatch is the best-looking Telltale-style game on the market. The 3D cel-shaded visuals are fantastic and look gorgeous in motion, and they do a fantastic job of conveying the game's sitcom-slash-superhero atmosphere and allowing the humor to land hard. The actual dispatch screen is intentionally basic, but the glorious voice acting more than makes up for it. A who's who of top-notch voice actors, headed by Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul as Robert, absolutely knock it out of the park.

Dispatch is a genuine delight from start to finish. Aside from the minor (and as of this writing, now irrelevant) nag of having to wait for the entire "season" to be done, I can't think of any strong complaints. The characters are fun and likable, the plot is pretty darn enjoyable, and it's probably the most fun Telltale-style game I've ever played. Add to that the fun dispatch-themed gameplay, and you've got something that's firing on all cylinders. If the crude humor and concept don't turn you off, Dispatch is a must-play for any superhero fans.

Score: 9.0/10