Routine Review: A Promising Sci-Fi Horror Game Marred by Frustrating Gameplay

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Man, I’ve been hearing about Routine forever – it was first announced way back in 2012! It’s been stuck in development for thirteen years, which is a total bummer. I, like a lot of horror fans, got really excited about it a long time ago, but honestly, I started to think it would never actually come out. Sadly, after all this waiting, it turns out the idea behind the game is way cooler than the game itself actually is. It’s a real letdown.

In the game Routine, you play as someone who wakes up alone on a lunar base. Exploring in first-person, you quickly realize something terrible has happened, and you must uncover the mystery of what went wrong.

The lunar base in Routine feels like a vision of the future straight out of the 1980s, complete with bright, blocky computers and environments reminiscent of the game Alien: Isolation. Gameplay is generally what you’d expect from a first-person game, but with some unique features. Players can stand on their toes to peek over obstacles or drop to the floor to look underneath them. While a clever mechanic used in a few puzzles, this feature isn’t utilized much as the game goes on.

Routine’s Puzzles and Exploration Are a Mixed Bag

Most of your time in Routine will be spent figuring things out, with puzzles that vary from enjoyable to quite difficult. The game’s levels aren’t always clear, and you’ll often find yourself retracing your steps, which can become tedious.

In Routine, players generally explore and solve puzzles, collecting upgrades for their C.A.T. device to unlock new abilities and progress. While the focus is on puzzle-solving, players will occasionally encounter dangerous enemies – like the powerful Type-05 robots – that can quickly defeat them.

Generally, players controlled by the game’s AI are very vulnerable to enemies. While the C.A.T. tool can briefly stun them, it’s not reliable and usually isn’t worth the effort. The best strategy is almost always to avoid combat by hiding or running away.

The game will be available to play with PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate right when it launches.

The C.A.T. tool isn’t very useful during combat in Routine, as the game doesn’t have much of it. However, it’s a big help when figuring out the game’s puzzles. These puzzles are typical for the survival-horror genre – you search the environment for codes and clues to unlock new areas. While the enemies do add a challenge to exploring and puzzle-solving, they unfortunately make the game less enjoyable overall.

The enemies in Routine aren’t truly dangerous, but they’re incredibly irritating. Getting caught sends you back to your last save, with minimal lost progress, creating a frustrating cycle of rushing to the puzzle, potentially getting caught, and repeating the process. I actually found that quickly running through each area was faster overall, even though it sometimes led to getting caught. The game initially featured permadeath, which felt too harsh, but a balanced approach between that and the current system could have been ideal.

Routine Isn’t Scary Enough to Make Up For Its Gameplay Shortcomings

Routine is either terrifying or deeply disappointing, depending on how easily you get scared. While the game initially creates a creepy atmosphere with its unsettling enemy designs and excellent sound, the fear doesn’t last. The enemies turn out to be more bark than bite, and any initial nervousness quickly fades. There’s one genuinely good jump scare, but despite the dark environments and frightening imagery, Routine largely fails to deliver on its horror promises.

It’s tough to recommend a horror game that doesn’t deliver on scares, and unfortunately, Routine falls into that category. However, horror fans might still enjoy it. Like the Resident Evil games, Routine relies on notes and files to gradually reveal a disturbing mystery. I was particularly impressed by a couple of story moments, and the game is likely to be heavily analyzed by players. The lore is intriguing, and I kept playing despite being disappointed with the gameplay and lack of scares, wanting to piece together the full story.

Routine really stands out thanks to its incredibly realistic graphics and impressive sound. The sounds of the character struggling to breathe while crawling through tight spaces, combined with the strange noises the enemies make when chasing you, are genuinely unsettling. While major scares aren’t constant, the audio design does a great job of building tension and atmosphere.

It took me around eight hours to finish Routine on my first try, but experienced players who solve puzzles quickly can finish it much faster.

Technically, Routine is a well-made game with excellent story, graphics, and sound. However, the gameplay is so tedious that it overshadows these strengths. It often feels boring, and the horror elements aren’t strong enough to compensate for the uninspired gameplay.

The game Routine will be available on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X starting December 4th. Game Rant received an Xbox code to review the game.

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2025-12-02 17:09