IT’S BEEN TWELVE YEARS…
It’s been twelve years (or more) since I saw the original Routine trailer on a now defunct Steam Greenlight. I voted for it. It looked scary in a way I hadn’t seen before. Within a couple of years, I would be left wondering what happened to Routine, occasionally searching for any updates. Plenty of horror games would come out between then and now that seemed to operate in a similar manner, no more so than Alien Isolation (2014) which is no surprise as Alien was clearly an inspiration for Routine, but I could never forget about the most promising game I saw on Steam Greenlight long after that service was sunset by Valve.
So, color me surprised when a trailer for Routine dropped a few years ago and revived my hopes for this game I saw in a very different part of my life. There was no way it could be good though because anything that’s a decade in development is never going to live up to expectations.
Surprisingly it does.
PLATFORMS: PC, XBOX SERIES, XB1
MSRP: $24.99
PRICE I’D PAY: $24.99
Before Routine dropped I went back to those early teasers from a decade ago and a lot of those concepts are still here. The tool, the save points, the aesthetic, the audio design, the visuals (although video compression ten years ago was unkind) are mostly intact and it’s surprisingly good.
The horror gameplay is mostly just running away and avoiding chasers, nothing new to the genre in 2025 but the focus is more on well-made puzzles and the atmosphere is of the highest quality. In fact, the world is so well designed and so detailed I was impressed this game was under 10gb. The way the lighting and the CRT screens flicker and the grime left on metal surfaces is unparalleled. The main tool is such a unique concept too as it is the way you access save points and has to be manually switched to different functions by physically selecting them on the gun (no menus stopping time) and the small CRT in the back that occasionally needs to be degaussed is always on and can be seen when looking down. The game launched into Gamepass, this is the recommendation, go play it.
Then come back and read my complaints because while the core gameplay is fantastic, I do have my gripes, and I feel it would be unfair to not bring them up.
At a certain point the lean and first function of the tool become pointless. It feels weird that two of the earliest things taught in the game lost all relevancy towards the latter half when there was definitely space for them to be relevant still. The lean function is almost useless simply because the AI will spot the player if visible at all so leaning doesn’t prevent that and the audio design is so well done that chaser position can mostly be heard so outside of maybe two times, leaning was irrelevant. I think it does a disservice to the game because the way this game starts it feels more like a horror immersive sim and that simply won’t pay off or be necessary.
This leads into my second gripe which is that in video games certain things are simply taught without language. Everyone points to the first stage in Super Mario Bros. essentially explaining without words what the rules of the game are, but it goes a lot deeper than that. In a 3D video game there has to be limitations to interactivity (especially in the year 2025) that a 2D game doesn’t need to establish simply because the dimensions of the game limit the expectations of interactivity/control schemes/etc. Throughout the first half of Routine doors are opened electronically so the game established that is how doors work so when I came across an area where I couldn’t open any doors I assumed I was missing something. The something that I missed was a small vent access that the player simply pushes their way into rather than opening and there’s no markings that it can be pushed and it’s not something I missed earlier (previous vents had no door on them) so I was wandering around until I stumbled into accidentally touching it and the vent access swung a bit.
It seems minor but this is unfortunately why detailed games paint objects yellow for interactivity: the player can’t distinguish what is and isn’t interactive based on visuals in a detailed environment, especially when most objects are not interactive. Obviously my solution is not to paint it yellow, but if a previous vent (even a completely optional one) had a cover like the one in the latter half I would have had the opportunity to know this was a possibility because I am playing in Lunar Software’s world with their own ruleset that they are defining through gameplay.
I also have no idea what the story is about/trying to say. I read all the files, and I know what was going on but the ending is weird and frankly unsatisfying. I’m not saying this is a gripe because ultimately I wasn’t being chased down by robots to learn the lore. I was being chased by robots because it’s fun and scary, but I can’t recommend this game for its plot as I feel most players will be left unsatisfied… but playing against type here, as someone who enjoys plot, I did not vote for Routine on Greenlight cause I wanted a story. I wanted scary robots chasing me which brings me to my last gripe: stop giving robots teeth. They don’t need them if you aren’t making androids; they are simply there to cause future harm. Someone will lose a finger in those gnashers.
So yeah, gripes aside, Routine is exactly what I wanted it to be. I want more. I would love to see these mechanics and this world taken further, especially if they can somehow make this more immersive with different ways to solve puzzles and the like. Extremely impressed. I simply cannot believe I finally got Routine let alone that it was this bloody good.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
