Dispatch has us working as a telephone jockey in a superhero’s world

Dial M for MY GOODNESS THIS LOOKS NEAT

Middle management is a super power, if you ask anyone above me on the corporate ladder. I’m at the bottom rung, so I can only ever really look up. Is that job glorious? Is it easy? Does it pay well? Heck, is it even needed? AdHoc Studio is hoping to answer those questions in their new game Dispatch, which takes management and adds a bit of a twist to it.

Okay, a big twist to it: super villains.

Announced at the 2024 Game Awards, we play as Robert Robertson, also known as Mecha Man, who has to give up his heroic mantle once his suit is destroyed. In a rough place, and looking for work, he takes a position as a dispatcher, managing a team of reforming super villains as they head out around the city on missions. And, by managing, we mean literally dispatching the call and tracking on a screen — we’re not actually doing the fighting here, we’re telling people where to go and fight (or rescue a kitten, or whatever). Added to the experience is an entire plot of personal redemption and interpersonal relationships, as Robertson needs to navigate not only the team he’s in charge of but also his coworkers and staff. From snacks in the breakroom to awkward conversations in the restroom to the general weirdness of a workspace, this is like being Michael Scott in The Office, but with capes.

It looks like a terrifically neat idea, and it’s put together by a team with a lot of adventure game experience: members of AdHoc Studio have worked on Wolf Among Us and Tales From The Borderlands, and features a cast that includes Laura Bailey, Jeffrey Wright and Aaron Paul.

Cast:

• Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad, Westworld, Black Mirror)
• Laura Bailey (The Legend of Vox Machina, The Last of Us II, Marvel’s Spider-Man)
• Erin Yvette (Hades II, The Wolf Among Us, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon)
• MoistCr1TiKaL (Charles White)
• Jacksepticeye (Sonic Prime, River City Girls, River City Girls 2, Bendy and the Ink Machine)
• Travis Willingham (The Legend of Vox Machina, Critical Role, LEGO Avengers)
• Alanah Pearce (V/H/S Beyond, Cyberpunk 2077, Gears 5)
• Lance Cantstopolis (Karate, Dancing, Actor)
• Joel Haver (Filmmaker, Actor, YouTuber)
• THOT SQUAD (Musician: Pound Cake, Hoes Depressed)
• Matthew Mercer (Critical Role, Overwatch, Resident Evil 6)
• Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction, The Batman, Casino Royale)

The game is set to arrive in 2025 on PC & Console.