Dispatch joins the pantheon of games where I want everyone I know to play it, just so I can live the story and decisions again for the first time vicariously through them.

This is also the only Telltale-esque game where it felt like there was actual gameplay outside of QTEs. The dispatching was genuinely enjoyable for me, as were (most) of the hacking mini games. As someone who generally weighs gameplay as a pretty high priority, this was a pleasant surprise!

I really hope that there is a second season, if only to hear another karaoke cover by Flambae.

For those who enjoyed The Talos Principle 2 and have not yet played this game, please do so. It is a worthy sequel and truly builds upon it's predecessor in both narrative and gameplay.

Puzzles:

Whether due to my own experience or the game's design, I do feel like The Talos Principle 2's puzzles are slightly easier than the original. There are many familiar mechanics, especially in the first few areas of the game. Anyone who played through the first game will breeze through the introductory puzzles and frankly many of the later ones, as well. That said, they did a wonderful job introducing a number of new elements and there were a handful of puzzles (especially some the "optional" ones) that truly left me scratching my head for 10-20 minutes at a time.

Stars:

I would kind of consider this a spoiler if this were the first game, but the sequel does not bother hiding these away at all. The stars are not as difficult to get or locate in this game, which I was slightly unhappy with. That said, I believe this was necessary due to how the world itself is designed. There is a sense of grandeur here that the original game reached for that I feel is truly realized in this sequel.

Story/Philosophy:

The first game explored what it meant to be an alive, conscious being and what that meant when examining artificial life vs natural life. This is not in question at all in the sequel. Instead, what is being asked are questions of morality and of the responsibilities of intelligent life. I believe it does this rather masterfully through your interactions with the world.

Exploration:

This game does not feel quite as full of Easter eggs (or at least, I was worse at finding them), but the world itself is much more expansive than the previous games. I mentioned this earlier in the review, but this game consistently gave breathtaking, imaginative views. I have several new backgrounds.

For those who have not yet played either game, I would encourage you to play the original and then play this game. You will be missing some context for this game and, moreover, both experiences are rich, thought-provoking and scratch the puzzle-itch part of your brain exceptionally well.