A Haunting, Retro-Futurist Nightmare Worth the Wait
Thirteen years is a remarkably long time to wait for a game, even by Grand Theft Auto standards. ROUTINE was first announced way back in 2012 by a small team of developers. So, what exactly happened in between then and now? Well, like everything in game development, things aren’t as black and white as they seem, with delays for numerous reasons.
But finally ROUTINE releases – was it worth the arduous wait? I think it was, and here is why.
In my mind, there are generally two types of sci-fi. There is the Star Wars type, where there are grand adventures, dashing heroes, heroines, and star battles in spaceships depicting the eternal fight between good and evil. Then, there is a different type of sci-fi, where the fiction provides insights into what it means to be human in space, offering a much more cerebral take on the universe.
ROUTINE lies somewhere in between, though in terms of video games, it has a much closer tie to the Alien: Isolation experience.
The story starts with you waking up in a room. As you get up, you put on a space suit and step out into the world, finding yourself in a lunar space base on the Moon. The setting is drenched in 80s and 90s retro-futurism, full of chunky computers and heavy plastic coverings. The base is empty and in a state of total disarray, with technology broken and monitors blinking in and out of use. By reading documents and emails left behind by the people who were stationed here, you notice there was something terribly wrong going on. Soon, you find that something else is hunting you…
I loved the atmosphere of this game, with its story slowly evolving as you travel through the base and try to unlock its secrets. I think the messages you find, both written and audio, are very well written and at times genuinely haunting. What I liked about this narrative is that it isn’t straightforward at all, and some of it is left entirely open to your own interpretation. The ending is strange, trippy, and confusing, but that is something I embraced. I suspect others might struggle a bit though.
The CAT Tool
All gameplay is in the first person, and I must warn you from the start: you cannot pause the game. I don’t know quite why this decision was made; maybe the developers never wanted you to relax. While it is strangely annoying at times, it undeniably keeps the tension strong. You can move, crouch, and pick items up by putting your cursor over them. You can also lean, which is important for looking around corners. This mechanic is introduced in the beginning scene, where you drop something important underneath a cupboard, requiring you to crouch down and then lean to see and grab it. It’s a nice mechanic to use and feels very authentic to the movement.
You soon grab your essential tool and weapon – the CAT. You can use this device to link to monitors throughout the base so you can see your objectives and, more importantly, save your progress. It also provides another function; if you are up against an enemy, you can stun them for a short while with an electrical burst. The batteries for the CAT need topping up, but there are loads of them hanging around the environment so you never really need to worry. You can also upgrade the device later so you can use it as a security pass, or equip it with a lens that can see infrared, allowing you to spot an alien in the dark, identify fingerprints on locks, or find symbols hidden in the walls.
There are a lot of puzzles to solve and work out. These are great; they feel very tactile and are, at times, quite hard. However, when you solve them, ROUTINE is very rewarding. And then the enemies you face are very much like the creature in Alien: Isolation in the way they stalk you around the levels. You can slow them down for a bit with the CAT, but generally, you will have to run and hide to get rid of them.
The Frustration of Uninterrupted Stalking
The main issue arises when you are engrossed in a task, like reading a monitor or engaging in a complex number puzzle; the enemy can appear, kill you instantly, and then you are sent back to the last save. This happened a few times and was my only real criticism of the game in general.
Visually, ROUTINE is superb, featuring an amazing design where Ridley Scott’s Alien feels like a massive inspiration. The environments are excellent and feel tangible; you can see the decay and the dysfunction of a once-working lunar base. The design of the CAT tool is great, and I loved that you must physically touch all the different buttons to get it to work with the cursor, rather than just pressing a button on the controller. The small number of cutscenes are dramatic and strange, working perfectly with the eerie nature of the whole story.
Oppressive Audio
The audio is equally good. Every crunch of metal, every footstep of a creature, or whirl of a monitor switching on is so oppressive and scary that playing this with headphones will put your blood pressure up significantly. The music is sparse, but when it kicks in… WOW, it is very effective. The voice-overs from the tapes you find are also nicely performed throughout.
A Tense Lunar Mystery
It’ll take just a few minutes for you to start enjoying ROUTINE, especially if you like games set in space, the chance to go solving strange mysteries, or the odd, non-conformist narrative. Added to this are the brilliant visuals and sound design. It’s just a shame that the enemy encounters get too annoying and punitive. But ROUTINE is a game that is worth its multi-year wait.
Important Links
No Waypoints, Minimal UI, Max Dread – ROUTINE is OUT NOW on Xbox, Game Pass and PC! – https://www.thexboxhub.com/no-waypoints-minimal-ui-max-dread-routine-is-out-now-on-xbox-game-pass-and-pc/
Long-Awaited Sci-Fi Horror ROUTINE Re-emerges with a 2025 Release, Coming Day One to Xbox Game Pass – https://www.thexboxhub.com/long-awaited-sci-fi-horror-routine-re-emerges-with-a-2025-release-coming-day-one-to-xbox-game-pass/
Download on Xbox (via Game Pass if you wish) – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/routine/9pcjt6tlcggv
