From a grounded operation to one across the stars. If there’s one thing Tiny Teams celebrates, it’s variety. Times & Galaxy is a narrative-led adventure through the galaxy as an intern reporter for the titular news agency, created by the team at Copychaser Games. Thanks to Yogscast Games as part of the Tiny Teams Festival, I’ve been given a code to investigate the happenings of the galaxy. And there’s some greatness to uncover with this one.

After a lovely fun video which sings the delights of working at Times & Galaxy, it was time to personalise the reporterbot I would be. A long, slim, dark blue body. With three body types to choose and sliders for full control over the colour, the options for personalisation are endless. Along with choosing the pronouns this robot holds, and its name, everything is confirmed and my job begins.

Seventeen cycles of an internship aboard the office of Times & Galaxy, the ship known as the Scanner. Though once aboard, I barely get time to explore before called to cover an emergency situation that has come up on the planet of Aug. The location of the shuttle crash serves as the tutorial for how covering the news will be done. Coverage that I am in full control of.

Once at the area of this emergency situation, there’s many people to talk to and things to discover to put together the story. When talking to people, there’s options for how I want to be interacting with them. I can be nice, get straight to the point, decide which line of questioning I want to pursue. All so I have what is needed to put the story together. Looking at other things also helps to gather that information, such as tables or scattered objects.

To construct the story, there’s Build-A-Story, which can be opened at any time. This screen is where all the information being uncovered goes, with a thoroughness stat tracking how much information has been gathered from the scene. Then there’s the five sections of the story, including the headline, lede, nut graf, key quote, and colour. Cycling through the options each section has, that story comes together.

There’s things to be aware of in choosing certain options. Changes in readership and reputation are shown for each option. Stories need to be interesting, after all. But being too sensational is also something that is looked down on. And choosing to break open an uncovered secret could bring a massive reputation hit. But… whatever. My story, I’ll do what I want. Including producing a broccoli.

Back to the shuttle that brought me to the surface, and story details confirmed, the next cycle begins. While down on the surface, I had a good time with the questioning of the people, as each are varied personalities. They never felt similar to someone else I spoke to, even though I was getting repeat answers about what happened at the scene. Some truly fun interactions, too. Such as a person who really wants their input to be clear to the point they spell out their name.

On the Scanner, the rest of the Times & Galaxy crew are met. And again, there’s a wealth of personalities. The photographer, the fitness expert, the conjoined alien who fights among themselves. All of these workers have a story, and across the seventeen cycles, more of those stories reveal themselves with the right dialogue choices. Or, just being kind enough to listen to the sports fanatic’s rambling on the latest results.

Times & Galaxy has the charm to see me through its seventeen cycles. Each news scene is fun to be a part of, interacting with everything I can and enjoying the results. Seeing the happenings on the Scanner is also lovely, with some help to be given at times to the those crew members. And whether down on the surface or in the ship, there’s sometimes the option to flirt, which provides some very fun lines.

The freedom of constructing a story is as fun as uncovering it, with plenty of nonsensical stories to be made. After all, I could use the headline of a specific candidate of a cat show and then mention anyone but that candidate for the rest of the article. That freedom is why I can give this journalism adventure an easy recommendation. So many great interactions to be had.

The Tiny Teams Festival is a celebration of games developed by small teams. This year running from 8-15/August, the festival once again is highlighting games both new and old, and even those yet to release. Check it out on Steam, and find yourself a great game from a tiny team.

Images Taken From:
Times & Galaxy | Steam