“Routine” in the Test: In Space, Everyone Can Hear You Stumble
“Routine” is a short, visually stunning repair visit to a moon base with killer bots that sometimes gets in its own way.
(Image: Lunar Software)
Tech support can be boring. This is true not only in real life, but also in "Routine." A standard situation in the horror game is slowly searching a location. The killer robots in the game are initially frightening and then repeatedly annoying, but they don't pose a major obstacle. The most typical problem in "Routine" is something else: Where do you go next? Somewhere there must be a code or a key card. Maybe go back to the terminal and read all the emails? Or look under the shelves?
In "Routine," a horror game announced over ten years ago and finally completed by the small indie studio Lunar Software, you are summoned as a technician to a moon base. Even upon arrival, it becomes clear that the technical problems are somewhat larger: the station appears abandoned, and the traces suggest a panicked flight. In a briefing room, you discover a multi-tool between a camcorder and a firearm – the CAT. It can show things, manipulate the environment slightly, open save points, and track mission objectives. However, it takes a while before you encounter the first killer robot. First, you have to find various numerical codes to open doors.
Nostalgic Science Fiction
There are many space stations where something has gone terribly wrong. At the latest, "Alien: Isolation" made it clear that you can also terrify a large audience in this way. If you know the game, you will almost automatically think of the Xenomorph in "Routine." Because not only the gameplay, but also the style has great similarities. "Routine" is also a kind of retro sci-fi game in which the state-of-the-art moon base features technology and style elements from the 1970s and 80s. Clunky dictaphones, CRT monitors, and VHS tapes are a natural part of the station's inventory.
"Routine" im Test (8 Bilder)
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)However, the most obvious 80s relic is a good imitation: the CAT vaguely resembles a pistol, has a small screen as a visor, constantly needs new batteries, and has a series of buttons that you have to press throughout the game. It feels wonderfully tactile to point the CAT at stubborn machines and then zap them until sparks fly. If you hit the right device with it, it even has a purpose. In a dangerous way, the device also feels unreliable: the battery lasts for a maximum of three shots, and you can't aim particularly precisely with the thing.
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But unlike "Alien: Isolation," this game remains largely free of action. You get caught by robots, or you escape quickly. Zapping them with the CAT hardly counts as combat. You still have to run away. Once you've escaped, hiding is quite easy. Although there are other dangers later in the game, the game's rhythm doesn't change much: you slowly work your way through the facility with puzzles and can save quite often. So it can be very frustrating, but you don't lose much progress.
The hide-and-seek can escalate into deadly stress. The paranoia is heightened by the excellent sound design. The killer robots stomp loudly and clearly from up close, but something is constantly humming, snapping, and fizzing in the distance. As soon as you dare to jog yourself, you stomp the soundscape into the ground. This not only increases paranoia but also immersion. Especially in the first few hours, "Routine" can feel stunningly real. Every sound, every visual detail, every interaction fits into the game world.
Death in an Escape Room
Once you have traversed a section of the station multiple times, the effect wears off. Initially, orientation is also quite easy. Those who know the way can quite well outrun enemies. Only later, when you travel to different areas, can the lack of a proper map cause difficulties.
The focus then lies on the game's puzzles for most of the time, because they are not trivial. Some actually require attentive thinking when operating machines or understanding devices – for example, where and how to use the CAT to open a door. However, many stand or fall by whether you have noticed the right detail.
Here, "Routine" relies too much on repetition. Too many puzzles revolve around number combinations and IDs that have to be discovered in more or less obvious ways. When matching a code or repeatedly scanning fingerprints, the game feeling shifts from a deadly "Myst" towards an escape room. It is understandable that certain doors must be opened with an ID, but it is also uninspired.
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And the combination of deadly horror and graphic adventure is a matter of taste. More than once during the test, progress was halted because a detail was overlooked or misunderstood. Those who want their horror as unmerciful as possible may appreciate the constant danger during the search for clues. We found it annoying after a while. Getting stuck and repeatedly encountering the same robots is not particularly frightening. This way, the game can rob itself of its own horror.
Turning it off and on again
The meager equipment of options also seems strange and unmerciful. The lack of a proper pause function – for an offline title – is remarkably unfriendly. Childcare or pizza orders are not planned on the moon.
However, those who can shut out the entire outside world will experience a better game. The immersion of "Routine" is second to none, and apart from some weak puzzles and worn-out narrative motifs, the story is gripping and well-told. Several characters appear in emails and logs and come to life. The mystery of the space station is a bit more complex than initially thought.
The basic idea is still very good: with nothing but a slightly cumbersome 80s gadget, to pant and stomp through a godforsaken space station remains grandly unsettling.
Conclusion: Work That Pays Off
Not much was missing for this game to become a true masterpiece. And with very small updates, it could become significantly better. But when you get really stuck, the game loses much of its dense atmosphere. This is particularly unfortunate because "Routine" looks and sounds stunning. Whether you perceive this more as a bump in the road or a fundamental problem is perhaps something you have to try out for yourself; "Routine" is also available in the Game Pass.
(afl)
