Routine Reviews
13 years have not been a waste. Routine is not a perfect horror game, but it is very thrilling, atmospheric and (in a good way) unfriendly.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Tasking you with exploring an abandoned lunar base and investigating what happened to it, Routine is a first-person horror game that will have you captivated from beginning to end thanks to its tense atmosphere and engaging puzzles.
Routine is a short but intense horror focused on mood over action. Not for everyone, but truly distinctive.
Review in Italian | Read full review
ROUTINE is an atmospheric horror film, fascinating but imperfect: punitive, divisive and deliberately anachronistic, it foregoes jump scares in favour of loneliness, tension and powerful aesthetics, capable of imposing a unique vision despite its limitations.
Review in Italian | Read full review
ROUTINE is a strong warning that horror works best with restraint. It might not change the genre, but it confidently and skillfully repeats basic ideas. ROUTINE gives players who want a deep, thoughtful experience a memorable fall into isolation.
After several years in development and facing the risk of cancellation, Routine by Lunar Software finally arrives on PC and Xbox Series with a unique horror experience, born of a lost era yet possessing an impossible-to-ignore charm.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Routine delivers tense, atmospheric space horror, clever puzzles and enemies, as well as a bold story twist, but a short runtime, weak late puzzles, and no pausing drags this horror game down.
It may have taken Lunar Software's Routine thirteen years to come out, but it just became one of my favorite horror games of all time, because, quite frankly, the game does everything right
ROUTINE is an excellent, immersive horror experience that revels in building and maintaining tension, forcing the player to rely on their own wits to progress and survive. While some may be put off by the game’s slower, more methodical pace or its lack of handholding, those willing to meet it on its own terms will find a deeply unsettling and meticulously crafted experience.
Routine was a really cool experience and I enjoyed it a lot. I was completely drawn into the atmosphere of the game, I had some trouble with the robots, and most importantly, I had fun the whole time.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
ROUTINE is a perfect example of how experimenting with the horror genre can pay off fantastically. While the lack of a map and a proper pause screen can be frustrating, the difficulty makes each gameplay set piece feel far more uneasy. Additionally, the subtle approach to storytelling helps to enhance the atmosphere and aesthetic, creating a truly memorable experience despite the short run time. If you're a fan of unique horror games, then ROUTINE is a must-play.
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Review in German | Read full review
ROUTINE delivers a surprisingly solid first-person horror experience, even after thirteen years of turbulent development. Set in Union Plaza, the game relies on a minimalist narrative told through logs and level design, enhancing immersion. The gameplay is methodical, tense, and fully diegetic, demanding constant strategy as the player faces a real threat in the lunar base corridors. With stable performance and an engaging atmosphere, ROUTINE stands out as a survival horror worth paying attention to.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
My biggest criticism of ROUTINE is simply that I wanted far more of it, because Lunar Software’s intensely atmospheric, stunningly designed, uniquely immersive and impeccably sounding horror experience boldly strays from every genre convention—even if its intentional obscurity can frustrate—resulting in one of the most distinctive and exhilarating horror titles you can play.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
It’s a lonely journey through a cold world that I’ve found myself drawn to continuously since I finished it. With this, one fact keeps coming back to me — nearly 15 years after I first saw it, Routine is out, and it’s good.
ROUTINE is an immersive, tense first-person horror game that excels at atmosphere, environmental storytelling, and stealth-based tension. Its minimalist systems and basic gameplay loop may feel limiting, and the story never fully engages or surprises, but those willing to embrace the game’s focused design will find a highly rewarding experience. It perfectly conveys the sense of being utterly alone on a derelict lunar base, and despite its flaws, it’s a compelling journey for fans of atmospheric horror.
It’s hard not to overhype a game after waiting for over a decade, but when I think back to what I hoped for when I watched the original trailer all those years ago, it delivered. Routine is a creative, tense, and dread-filled experience that makes the most of its aesthetic and sound design, and horror fans shouldn’t miss it.
As crazy as a 13-year dev cycle may be, Routine was more than worth the wait. Over a decade of dedication to the project has resulted in a masterclass of sci-fi survival horror, the likes of which immersed me completely throughout. The liminal vibes are immaculate, the environmental storytelling top-tier, and the sense of existential dread around each and every corner of yet another claustrophobic corridor is palpable. Some wonky controls and a couple instances of stuck momentum are the only minor issues within an otherwise incredible, rewarding, terrifying experience that feels like a love letter to old-school horror games of the past.
In the pantheon of sci-fi horror, ROUTINE is a noble effort.
Routine is an essential game for fans of sci-fi horror! With strong inspirations from Alien Isolation, mechanics such as the use of the C.A.T. tool can become a major differentiator. Beyond the new features and gameplay mechanics, the game struggles with clunky combat, but it encourages and rewards players through exploration.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review