ROUTINE releases on PC/Xbox/Gamepass in 2025 | Release Window Trailer

ROUTINE Reviews

Routine is a first person horror exploration game set on an abandoned Moon base. Your job is to find enough data to uncover the truth behind the strange disappearance of everyone stationed on the Lunar Research Station.
www.metacritic.com www.metacritic.com

77 MC

Seems we have a proper divisive game on our hands with scores ranging from 9/10 to 5/10. When a game pisses some people off, it's usually at least interesting. Seems the consensus is weak narrative, but fantastic visuals, sound design and tactile immersion.

Pretty excited to try it out.
 
Punished Miku said:

ROUTINE Reviews

Routine is a first person horror exploration game set on an abandoned Moon base. Your job is to find enough data to uncover the truth behind the strange disappearance of everyone stationed on the Lunar Research Station.
www.metacritic.com www.metacritic.com

77 MC

Seems we have a proper divisive game on our hands with scores ranging from 9/10 to 5/10. When a game pisses some people off, it's usually at least interesting. Seems the consensus is weak narrative, but fantastic visuals, sound design and tactile immersion.

Pretty excited to try it out.
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79 on Xbox. The polarization of the reviews is real and evident, but it's basically what we're seeing in single-player AA titles of this type.

Much of what I've read are things I appreciate (great visuals, horror, slow pacing, some puzzles... and ~8-10 hours long).

This year I'm really enjoying these kinds of games. Still Wakes the Deep (which I think Routine is similar to), Keeper, South of Midnight... Eight months ago I also finished and enjoyed Scorn. I hope Routine Will be another one.
 
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Darsxx82 said:
79 on Xbox. The polarization of the reviews is real and evident, but it's basically what we're seeing in single-player AA titles of this type.

Much of what I've read are things I appreciate (great visuals, horror, slow pacing, some puzzles... and ~8-10 hours long).

This year I'm really enjoying these kinds of games. Still Wakes the Deep (which I think Routine is similar to), Keeper, South of Midnight...
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My thoughts exactly. But yeah, we'll see. I'll definitely play it soon as I can.
 
Darsxx82 said:
79 on Xbox. The polarization of the reviews is real and evident, but it's basically what we're seeing in single-player AA titles of this type.

Much of what I've read are things I appreciate (great visuals, horror, slow pacing, some puzzles... and ~8-10 hours long).

This year I'm really enjoying these kinds of games. Still Wakes the Deep (which I think Routine is similar to), Keeper, South of Midnight... Eight months ago I also finished and enjoyed Scorn. I hope Routine Will be another one.
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Yeah, I don't have to see any review scores, this is my type of game. Still Wakes the Deep, etc. are games that I love, and this one looks right up that alley.
 
I will definitely check this out, it's been on my wishlist for literally years.

Review are not bad at all

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Out tomorrow

 
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The game looks fantastic and the atmosphere is excellent... Still Wakes the Deep, but on a lunar station.

I love that there's no on-screen HUD or visual aids... but it's true that sometimes I'm having trouble figuring out what to do or finding the item I need to continue.

Enjoying it for now, let's see how it goes.
 


Discoveries lead to deeper unknowns, the only way to go is forward. ROUTINE is available now on Xbox Game Pass, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud and Steam.

ROUTINE is a First Person Sci-Fi Horror set on an abandoned lunar base designed around an 80s vision of the future.

Explore deteriorating living quarters, a deserted mall, and more, as you attempt to piece together the events that unfolded before your arrival - but your search for answers will put you face-to-face with an enemy that sees you as the threat.

ROUTINE also supports Xbox Play Anywhere and is Xbox Handheld Optimized.
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This was the original Steam Greenlight game. 14 years in development. This is surely the final confirmation that Half-Life 3 releases this year.
 
I've been watching Lirik play the game. It's definitely a visual feast. They totally nailed the retro-futuristic aesthetic. Great textures, use of lighting and convincing technology. Everything feels consistent to what the devs aimed to achieve.
Some of the sequences are quite an experience in a 'cyberdelic' sense.

Gameplay-wise: it's mainly solving puzzles through interfaces that grant access to new areas, looking for clues (the typical notes & recordings left by others) while hiding/running from robots (early game) and the moon man (halfway in). Moon man is hardly the scariest monster I've seen in a videogame and may overstay his welcome making him more of a nuisance than a scare, which is a mark down on the horror meter. The game offers tips through your 'tasks' that you can access through the projector interface, so you won't get stuck easily.
Story: pretty standard sci-fi horror stuff, but the delivery makes it very intriguing.

This isn't a game for me, but for €22 (EU Steam) I can see it being worthwhile for fans of the genre. The experience reminds me of mix between SOMA and Alien: Isolation.
 
This year has been pretty bad to the point where this is the most interesting game for 2025 and the only one I'll buy. Never thought this game would actually come out after all these years so glad it finally happened. Hope it lives to some expectation I've had for it over the past few years.
 
Hawk The Slayer said:
This year has been pretty bad to the point where this is the most interesting game for 2025 and the only one I'll buy. Never thought this game would actually come out after all these years so glad it finally happened. Hope it lives to some expectation I've had for it over the past few years.
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You must have some eclectic tastes to not even want to have played Clair Obscur, Hades 2 or Donkey Kong Bananza?! Plenty of interesting stuff out this year... Each to their own I suppose.
 
Hawk The Slayer said:
This year has been pretty bad to the point where this is the most interesting game for 2025 and the only one I'll buy. Never thought this game would actually come out after all these years so glad it finally happened. Hope it lives to some expectation I've had for it over the past few years.
Click to expand...

If this is the only game you're buying this year, you just don't like games. There's really no other explanation.
 
Magic Carpet said:
I can't find the code to open the door. I got the degausing gun and a room with lots of batteries but I'm stuck.
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Use the gun to turn on the screen in the room you got the gun. I won't tell you how to not ruin the fun of finding out but it's in the documents lying around. I'm not far in but the clues are always close by in the game.

This game ticks a lot of boxes for me. Atmosphere is awesome.
 
I started to play it last night. Immediate first two comparisons as others mentioned is alien isolation which I loved and same for still wakes the deep. I haven't put too much time into it yet before I went to bed but it's a slower paced gameplay and doesn't point things out for progression so it takes me time to go from place to place solving the puzzle but for the moment I'm fine with that.

Visuals and audio are sick.
 
MacReady13 said:
You must have some eclectic tastes to not even want to have played Clair Obscur, Hades 2 or Donkey Kong Bananza?! Plenty of interesting stuff out this year... Each to their own I suppose.
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None of them were interesting enough to get me off my backlog of modded Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and WoW/Warcraft Reforge. Routine is pretty unique with the whole 80s retro space thing indie and a game I've been eyeing on for years since the first showcase and it ain't too expensive so reason why I'm going to give it a chance.

There's a bunch of interesting stuff next year though which is what I'm looking forward to like Resident Evil 9, Tides of Annhiliation, Dawn of War 4, Darksiders 4, and Half Life 3 if it comes. Already like any of these upcoming games by themselves way more than everything this year.

analog_future said:
If this is the only game you're buying this year, you just don't like games. There's really no other explanation.
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Lol.

Still very much in love with games which is why I spend so much time on modded Bethesda games and Warcraft Reforge and World of Warcraft this whole year. I blame them modded Elder Scrolls and modded Fallout games for being too awesome as a backlog as they're always a blast to go back to. Also spend some time on some online multiplayer games like Nuclear Nightmare/SCP Secret Lab. So yeah still in love with games.

And not only that but there's plenty of games I'm looking forward to a lot next year like Resident Evil 9, Dawn of War 4, Tides of Annihilation. Grand Theft Auto VI, Half Life 3, Darksiders 4 and World of Warcraft Midnight. So Yeah still very much in love with games.

Now I may not be getting new games super often like how I used to as a little kid during the SNES/N64, and PS2 days but that's because those were all single player games which gets boring after a few playthroughs. These days with modded Elder Scroll games, modded Fallout games, and the world editor for Warcraft Reforge allowing me to both get modded stuff as well as mod it myself. Plus big online games such as WoW. Getting lots of new games isn't needed for me unless they really interest me. But yeah still really much in love with games.
 
Also a question for those that beat the game or at least made it far enough.

In some of the earlier previews over the years,
we see the main guy encounter something in the sewers, it's clearly not a robot. So is that non robotic enemy still in the game?
 
yeah started this game on game pass. i'm on chapter 4 and i will say this is a really immersive experience
plot is intriguing and ambiance is perfect
definitely hard recommend so far. i'm quite surprised. i picked this game randomly and had no idea what it was about. so it made everything 10x immersive

Hawk The Slayer said:
Also a question for those that beat the game or at least made it far enough.

In some of the earlier previews over the years,
we see the main guy encounter something in the sewers, it's clearly not a robot. So is that non robotic enemy still in the game?
Click to expand...

yes, there is a humanoid enemy indeed. i'd say the plot revolves around their kind actually which makes the whole thing intriguing

my favorite thing about the game so far

invisible humanoid monster pushing canisters aside and moving through curtains... literal chills

completed the game. took me around 7 hours, 100% achievements. 80/100
 
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Finished the game. It honestly scared the shit out of me. I haven't felt this level of unease and tension in a horror game since Amnesia The Bunker, and prior to that I hadn't had this feeling since Soma and Alien Isolation. I just wish the story was a bit better and not so cryptic/vague. Thats the one thing it fumbles compared to the games that clearly inspired it.

But overall its definitely a realy good ride especially for $20.
 


Routine has had a long and troubled road to its final release. But it has managed to be a solid experience, perhaps vindicating Lunar Software's multiple delays to ensure a game that stuck its landing on the first try. But was it worth waiting thirteen years for? Routine has largely managed to deliver on the promise it made all those years ago, bringing an excellent horror experience to the table with a solid gameplay loop woven in.

You're going to be white-knuckled and breathing heavily as you explore its world, the threat of a robot that's quite intent on beating you into a pulp forcing you to be mindful of your actions and strategic in your approach. It's challenging without being frustrating, a balance that many studios find it hard to get right. But Routine has struck that balance, and the end result is a solid title that has quite intent on seeing the adventure through.
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The headphone audio panning on this is crazy. Shut a door and it was all in the right ear with the door to my right. Really dramatic 3D audio.

Reviews weren't kidding about the tactile immersion. Just handling your CAT tool feels cool as fuck. This is totally hard sci fi Still Wakes the Deep.
 
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This is almost too spooky for me lol. I just sit under the tables and let the game run for minutes at a time. I don't want to get back out.
 
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ROUTINE has been in development for over a decade. And while this time saw the start and end of an entire console generation, as well as the game itself switching from Unreal Engine 3 all the way up to Unreal Engine 5, it thankfully didn't suffer the same fate as games with massive development time tend to do.

In ROUTINE, you wake up without much of an idea of what you're supposed to be doing or how you even got to the lunar base. However, over the course of just a couple of hours, you learn your main objective: disable the automated security system that has seemingly gone haywire and has been targeting humans.

The horror experience is heightened by the fact that there's no traditional UI to speak of, and you don't really have any weaponry to deal with the threat posed by the security system. Rather, it's entirely up to you to explore and figure out a way to shut it down, and ultimately, survive.
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