The release of ROUTINE, a sci-fi horror that was in development for thirteen years, took place on PC and Xbox
ROUTINE, a long-awaited release of a sci-fi horror from the British indie studio Lunar Software, has taken place.
The game was announced in 2012, but in 2017 the authors restarted development, changing the project's concept. After that, the release was postponed several times, and finally, ROUTINE became available on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One, and is also offered free to Game Pass subscribers.
What's known
In style and theme, ROUTINE is somewhat reminiscent of the 'Alien' franchise: the game's events take place on an abandoned scientific lunar station haunted by an unknown monster, and the protagonist must find answers to their questions and avoid falling victim to the creature from space.
The game features retro-futurism aesthetics, and the minimalist interface allows a deeper immersion into the atmosphere of cosmic horror.
Critics have received ROUTINE with decent reviews, but gave it average scores:
- on Metacritic, the game has 77 points;
- on OpenCritic 80 points with 72% recommendations.
Experts praised the narrative and immersion, but noted that the gameplay turned out to be boring, and some mechanics are underdeveloped and cause irritation. However, gamers rated ROUTINE highly, as evidenced by 90% positive reviews on Steam. The audience missed classic slow-paced space horrors, and ROUTINE provides exactly that experience.
