ROUTINE

if i had a penny for everytime i've played a game surrounding the concepts of birth/rebirth this 2026, i'd have 2 pennies which isn't alot but very much a funny coincidence anywho, i was very thrown off from how we went from seemingly rogue ai robots to body-cosmic horror creatures native to the moon reading an explanation to this story and the subsequent theories you can form from it, they did well going on forward with a 'show-dont-tell' philosophy when writing this the module gun made this game way more fun and honestly without them it would've been just another first person horror game 8.5/10

Massive horror fan, played many horror games and this one has got me good, first chapter isnt so scary, the second tho - buckle those bootstraps lol.

literally the best horror game ive ever played the graphics are so good

good

Amazing game. Insane atmosphere.

I'm not really digging this game. Some of the game mechanics that I think were meant to ratchet up the fear/tension in the game just come off as annoying after a while. The game doesn't hold your hand, IMO this is a double edged sword. Some of the game mechanics are tedious and just become annoying after a while. The game has a lot of really good and innovative concepts, but I'm going to step away from it for a bit. Pros - Good atmosphere and setting. Union Plaza is straight out of an 80's dream (similar to Alien Isolation), The place is a wreck and the devs did a good job with it. - Innovative gun/tool - No handholding - The game gives you all the information you need to play the game, but they don't hold your hand. Example - The first time a robot approached me it was clear he wasn't coming towards me to say hello. He didn't make any threatening gestures, he just walked towards me with "intent". - The playable games in the arcade were a neat addition. Cons - Your character walks slowly. No you don't understand, it walks like they're out for a leisurely stroll. I think the devs meant for this to ratchet up the tension, but after a while it's just annoying. You can jog for a bit before your character starts wheezing like an 80 year old asthmatic smoker though. Yes you are in a spacesuit, yes spacesuits are heavy, I still don't like how slow the character moves. - The game doesn't hold your hand (I listed it as a positive above), but I played for two hours before I realized that all the batteries I was picking up weren't going into my inventory (spoiler, you don't have one). The dude is in a spacesuit with pockets and he couldn't stuff a battery or two in them. There's also a metric f*** load of batteries scattered around the place, but you have to approach each one to see if you can even pick it up.

----English---- Routine did more than just surprise me. As someone who's played his fair share of good horror games over the years (Signalis, Soma, Amnesia, Outlast and Dead Space, to name just a few), I don't scare easily. Far too often, horror games fall back on cheap jumpscares or crude body horror. Routine takes a different path and it walks it masterfully. The atmosphere is incredibly dense and had me in its grip within the first few minutes. The slow movement, the tactile multitool, the complete absence of music, everything works together to build a very particular kind of immersion. But by far the most striking feature is the sound. I can count on one hand the games that have kept me this tense through audio alone. The ambient noise is as fascinating as it is horrifying, and it left me constantly second-guessing whether something had just walked past behind me or whether I'd only imagined it. The sequence and chase involving the server (if you know, you know) played out entirely through sound, and it was still one of the most terrifying experiences I've ever had in a game. I won't spoil it, so I'll leave it there. Routine understands horror on such a fundamental level that it almost scares me. Nearly every design decision seems built to unsettle the player from the level design to the pacing of tension itself. On top of that comes a story told almost entirely through the environment, one that leaves you with enough gaps to piece it together yourself. If you want everything handed to you, this isn't for you. Grab your best pair of headphones and a quiet, dark evening, and enjoy. Routine offers one of the best experiences horror games have to give. -----Deutsch----- Routine hat mich mehr als nur überrascht. Als jemand, der über die Jahre einige gute Horrorspiele gespielt hat (Signalis, Soma, Amnesia, Outlast und Dead Space, um nur ein paar zu nennen), lasse ich mich nicht leicht gruseln. Viel zu oft setzen Horrorspiele auf billige Jumpscares oder plumpen Body Horror. Routine geht einen anderen Weg und das meisterhaft. Die Atmosphäre ist extrem dicht und hat mich schon in den ersten Minuten in ihren Bann gezogen. Die langsame Bewegung, das taktile Multitool, das komplette Fehlen von Musik, alles arbeitet zusammen und hat sofort eine ganz besondere Immersion aufgebaut. Aber das mit Abstand auffälligste Feature ist der Sound. Ich kann die Spiele an einer Hand abzählen, die es geschafft haben, mich allein durch Klang konstant unter Anspannung zu halten. Die Umgebungsgeräusche sind gleichermaßen faszinierend wie grauenhaft und ließen mich dauerhaft hinterfragen, ob gerade etwas hinter mir langgelaufen ist, oder ob ich es mir nur eingebildet habe. Die Sequenz und Verfolgung rund um den Server (if you know, you know) spielte sich rein über Sound ab und war trotzdem eine der gruseligsten Erfahrungen, die ich je in einem Spiel hatte. Ich will nicht spoilern, deshalb belasse ich es dabei. Routine versteht Horror so fundamental, dass es mir fast Angst macht. Gefühlt jede Design-Entscheidung dient dazu, den Spieler zu gruseln. Vom Level-Design bis zum Spannungsbogen. Dazu kommt eine Story, die fast ausschließlich über die Umgebung erzählt wird und mich mit genug Lücken entlassen hat, um sie selbst zusammenzusetzen. Wer alles serviert bekommen will, ist hier falsch. Schnappt euch euer bestes Paar Kopfhörer und einen ruhigen, dunklen Abend und genießt. Routine wartet mit einer der besten Erfahrungen, die Horrorspiele zu bieten haben.

This game was a refreshing surprise of horror. The first half was scary. The clues you reveal in the first half, even more so. The second half had me ♥♥♥♥ myself and fearing something was lurking in my hallway. It is a short game and while the mechanics are none too complex, the art and sound direction are phenomenally perfect. While some parts are tedious, and this game gives NO hand holding, it did it's job better than I could have ever hoped. Whether you are looking for scares, a unique and engagingly terrifying story, or a brain tumbling puzzle; ROUTINE is a game for you.