Ultimately it’s clear I didn’t really have the time for it anyways but I was hoping I’d see cool stuff come out of it at least.

Sure it’s not DEAD dead (even their card game still gets small updates), but this is so bleak dude.

There's a few small irritations here and there (some of the hacking segments feel cheap and the "insta-fail if you go beyond the stat limit" jobs are obnoxious), but overall I had a great time. Gotta see if I can't find time to run that second playthrough, or at least watch someone else play.

And these aren't just stat sheets you're sending. They're a band of jackasses. Sometimes they'll outright refuse going on a mission, or they'll ditch it partway through. They also have special skills reflecting their personalities that can both help and hinder.

Meanwhile, the dispatches that make up the gameplay bring a great source of controlled stress and friction. There's a lot of trouble in town and sometimes you have to send heroes who aren't the best fit for the job, or you have to forgo smaller calls to send more people on a bigger job.

I personally found the game to be really funny, thanks to stellar performances from a top-notch voice cast and a variety of dialogue choices to make. I've seen people grumble about Telltale having lots of fake choices, but this game seemed to have enough that matter. Whole characters depend on them.

Dispatch marks the return of the Telltale games format by some its former devs. The plot itself is mostly straightforward, but the premise of being a forcibly retired hero who gets put in charge of making dispatch calls for a team of former supervillains is very fun.

the thing that kills me is these AI ads are trying to be all inspirational and tell people that these services are empowering them to make things. you can already make things! you can teach yourself creative skills! you can learn to code! you don't need to cede control to these companies!!!