Dispatch was released last month, on October 22, and it quickly managed to become one of the most popular games on Steam. It hasn’t even been a month since its release, and the game has already gathered over 50,000 reviews on the platform, with the majority of them being Overwhelmingly Positive. Steam Deck users seem to be enjoying the game the most, as it’s currently above every other game in the top-played charts.

The Steam Deck Top Played charts make it clear what users are playing on Valve’s handheld. And if you take a look right now, you’ll find that Dispatch is currently sitting in the first spot, dethroning Hades II.

Dispatch is ideal for the Steam Deck

Dispatch is described as “a superhero workplace comedy” with a strong focus on choices and narrative. The game is developed by AdHoc Studio, as its first game; the studio was founded by industry veterans from the likes of Telltale Games, writers and directors behind Tales from the Borderlands and The Wolf Among Us, so storytelling is a big part of what makes it special.

One of the biggest parts of Dispatch is choice. Everything you do affects the story. Small interactions, like talking with coworkers in the break room, can change how characters feel about you. Big decisions, like who you send into dangerous missions, can shape the entire direction of the story. You also use a strategy map to track emergencies happening around the city, and you must pick which hero to send based on their skills, personality, and even their personal problems.

The episodic structure of the game has kept fans returning to the series on a weekly basis, and the final two episodes (7&8) were released on November 12. As you can see from the screenshot above, the Top 100 list covers the past week, currently from November 11-17, so it makes sense to say that the release of the last couple of episodes has helped boost the player numbers.

• Episodes 1-2: October 22
• Episodes 3-4: October 29
• Episodes 5-6: November 5
• Episodes 7-8: November 12

Dispatch has Verified status on the Steam Deck, and Steam Deck HQ gives it a five-star rating in its current review, noting that the game “runs absolutely perfectly” on the Valve handheld. The interface also scales well; this is something that tends to be an issue on the 7-inch screen in games with lots of text elements.

About the Author

Abdul Haddi

Abdul is a tech writer and Editor for PC Guide, specializing in all things tech, gaming, and hardware.