I love an existential robot — and Times & Galaxy, an indie adventure game, has a lot of them.
On the surface, the term “existential robot” seems like an oxymoron. Existentialism is, after all, a philosophical inquiry of human existence — humanity’s meaning, purpose, and value. In other words, “Who are we, and why do we exist?”
But the link between robots and existentialism is clearer than it first appears. They are, after all, a product of their maker. Over the years, there have been numerous articles, podcasts, talks, books, and research papers on robots and humanity. One neuroscientist even wrote that depressed robots can teach us about mental health.
I’ve always enjoyed philosophical discussions and conversations about mental health, so it’s no wonder that I gravitated towards Times & Galaxy’s existential — and often depressed — robots.
In many ways, they remind me of Marvin from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy — another favorite robot of mine.
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In Times & Galaxy, you play as the first robot reporter, starting your internship at the universe’s legacy newspaper of the same name. You live on the paper’s spaceship with the other employees; although the other editorial staffers are human and aliens alike, a lot of the ship’s menial workers are robots like you.
In between reporting stories on the ground, you can explore the ship and interact with its many inhabitants (and inanimate objects).
I quickly fell in love with Janitorbot for constantly questioning its endless task of cleaning the ship. Its pointed remarks and bot-speak make it very endearing — and, if you choose, you can have a romantic relationship with Janitorbot in-game by flirting with it.
Janitorbot is, in many ways, the complete opposite of Hirayama from the 2023 film Perfect Days, who works as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo but spends his time taking joy in the little things. For Janitorbot, the task is never complete, but instead a source of Sisyphean-like dread; meanwhile, Hirayama seems unphased by having to clean the same toilets each day. Janitorbot will not, and indeed cannot, rest while a speck of dirt is on the ship — an impossible task with reporters coming and going all the time.
Meanwhile, the aptly named Watercoolerbot sits in a corner of the bunk room, depressed about its lack of meaningful connection. As it says, everyone has conversations around Watercoolerbot — however superficial they may be — but no one ever talks to it directly.
Even interacting with the vending machine, looking at the games available onboard the ship, and picking up in-game collectibles such as seeds can be an existential experience.
Sure, running around reporting intergalactic stories was fun, but my favorite part of the game was interacting with these sad, weird robots. I felt a kinship with them that most certainly had nothing to do with the existential dread journalists face in real life.
Times & Galaxy is available to play on Windows PC via Steam, GOG, and Humble Bundle. It’s also available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Series X|S, and PS5.
