Dead by Daylight
Dead by Daylight
Game
Game2025
ROUTINE
Developer Lunar Software
Routine is a 2025 survival horror game developed by Lunar Software and published by Raw Fury. Set on a lunar base, the story follows an unnamed protagonist unraveling a mysterious incident that led to the base's decline. The game is played from a first-person perspective, with the player exploring the base and using a special device to fight hostile robots, interact with the environment, and perform other actions.… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
577 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
88
LovedLoved
412 positive · 57 negative
95% range 85–91%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 412 | 57 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 28 | 2 | 77 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
5,530 of 5,978 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
89% recommend · 274 yes, 35 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 309 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (7,947 of 8,648 positive).
Players praise the game's immersive, diegetic design and lack of hand-holding. [1][2][3] Many find it genuinely terrifying, with some unable to play for days. [4][5][6] Some criticize the lack of a pause function and short playtime. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [18]
Before I begin, I must preface this by saying I was with this game every step of the way. From the first trailers involving trudging through dark tunnels with a low-tech CRT pistol, to the blogs mentioning full-body immersion and even the radical idea of permadeath. I never expected such an ambitious game to ever come out, but to see it reach the finish line is an amazing achievement in itself. Starting with the …
- [1]
Years of hand-holding and blatantly telling the player what to do have done irreparable damage to gamers' critical thinking and attention spans. What's your ID? It's on your suit - look down. How do I get this thing to raise? Shoot the thing. You're a technician - how do you fix the thing? Turn it on and off. There's so many simple things with simple solutions that will filter out streamers like DSP. The game does …
- [4]
I've played a lot of terrifying games before, and even some games that have genuinely scared me... But never in my entire life have I played a game where I got so scared that I couldn't physically play it for a whole week. That's how you know the game is phenomenal. I had been following this game since it was announced in 2011, it was surreal seeing Alien Isolation come and go before this, and there was a time where …
- [2]
This isn't horror, this game is pure terror. Man, waited years for this game to release and its wayyyyy better than I expect. For people not able to pass the starting area, please read all papers when you get the CAT. This game does not hold you hand at all and its amazing for it.
- [3]
Amazing game. I just finished it, and I can't quite give high enough praise for just how well the devs managed to immerse the player in the atmosphere. Very minimal UI, most information requires you to actively use your head. The game does not hold your hand - a lot of mechanics require active thinking and searching meticulously through the environment, puzzles are usually fairly simple but can still scramble your …
Summarised from 34 of the 354 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
89% of the 309 Steam reviewers we collected recommend ROUTINE. The complaint that keeps coming up: no pause function even in menus. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Routine received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic. OpenCritic determined that 77% of critics recommended the game. Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 577 · most liked firstYears of hand-holding and blatantly telling the player what to do have done irreparable damage to gamers' critical thinking and attention spans. What's your ID? It's on your suit - look down. How do I get this thing to raise? Shoot the thing. You're a technician - how do you fix the thing? Turn it on and off. There's so many simple things with simple solutions that will filter out streamers like DSP. The game does very little hand holding. Everything is so diegetic in this game for the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Finished ROUTINE! I absolutely loved the game. You know what you're getting into more than not, but it's the WAY that those things are executed that's so masterful and fine-tuned here. It's as much what the game does as what it doesn't. There's some genuinely scary late-game stuff, too. GREAT game.
positive · AI labelView post →You already know what I'm going to say about the decade+ wait so I'll skip it and just tell you to play this right away. The review publication Gamerant scored this a game a 5/10, from the same writer which scored concord a 7/10, BO7 an 8/10, and starfield a 10/10. I bring up this up to fully illustrate the kinds of people which will be ruthlessly filtered by this experience: tasteless, corporate tools, which have every part of their problem solving mind atrophied by years of over…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"Routine" is incredible. A rare horror game that truly unnerved me. With an environment so meticulously framed and lit that every moment of this experience leaves an impression. A honed aesthetic that makes expert use of tactile analog tech and liminality both in service of gameplay and identity.
positive · AI labelView post →This isn't horror, this game is pure terror. Man, waited years for this game to release and its wayyyyy better than I expect. For people not able to pass the starting area, please read all papers when you get the CAT. This game does not hold you hand at all and its amazing for it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →'Routine' officially releases December 4 🎮🧑🚀 • Sci-fi horror set in an abandoned lunar base • Game was announced in 2012
neutral · AI labelView post →On steam deck, limit the fps to 45 and set settings to low, it runs perfectly well. Graphics look incredible, and for a team of any size (let alone 3); you can tell that a lot of love and work went into this game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Routine – Early Impressions Routine is fantastic for what it is, and honestly, the story behind its development makes it even more impressive. This game was announced back in 2012 with a vision that instantly grabbed everyone. Then everything went dark. Development stalled, radio silence dragged on for years, and most of us assumed it had died somewhere between the engine swaps and bad luck. People joke that it looks inspired by Alien Isolation… but this existed before that game was even…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Before I begin, I must preface this by saying I was with this game every step of the way. From the first trailers involving trudging through dark tunnels with a low-tech CRT pistol, to the blogs mentioning full-body immersion and even the radical idea of permadeath. I never expected such an ambitious game to ever come out, but to see it reach the finish line is an amazing achievement in itself. Starting with the positives, the game looks bloody amazing and runs just as great. It's not even…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Was absolutely laughing when they pitted me against the default robots. Stupid clankers, can't catch me when I'm sprinting. Ooooo, look at you, standing motionless while I walk right past. You ain't nothin'. Then I got pitted against something that wasn't a default robot and I immediately got down on my knees and prayed for those metal angels. Please. Bring them back. I can change! I won't bully you anymore! I'll even let you catch me once in a while! Just please. The other guy is gettin' his…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is kind of like Amnesia, but sci-fi. Sneak around, dodge enemies, solve puzzles. The areas aren't that big, and the game can take about 7 hours to complete 100%. The first playthrough is really fun, but the replay value is very low. -Atmosphere and sounds are very good. -Infinite stamina. -Unique tool mechanics. -Only one missable achievement. -Sound-based enemies. -No pause (even if you press ESC). -No map. -No manual flashlight without the tool (while aiming with it, you sacrifice…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →devs were aware of what they were doing, and how would you act. interesting story, constant unnerving atmosphere, nostalgic visuals, fair puzzles, character designs... this is the perfect horror game. game was scary enough to make me pee myself also, those IC robots are so cuteeeee i want an IC mini !!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's games like this where i wish there was a mixed option, which is especially disappointing considering just how long some people have waited for this. On a technical level the game is fantastic, its audio and visuals are both 10/10 with the sound of the enemies alone succeeding in unnerving me, and while other games have used the same 70s/80s retrofuture art style ROUTINE uses since it was first announced, it still nails it in a way that still feels unique. There's some good scares in…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →From start to finish, Routine is tightly designed and extremely good looking. I absolutely adore the retro-sci-fi aesthetic, and they captured it perfectly in tandem with the amazing audio design. I don't really know how long it's been since there's been a game that's really immersed me into its perspective. The diegetic UI, the movement, the environmental design, the design of various terminals, and the way you operate your CAT tool create the closest thing to the player character being an…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →ROUTINE | Release Date Trailer (Dec 4th for Steam/Xbox/Game Pass) www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHB0... store.steampowered.com/app/606160/R...
neutral · AI labelView post →Players who enjoyed this game also liked: SOMA, Alien Isolation, Obervation, The Invincible
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I only heard of ROUTINE from its recent trailer, and based on everything I saw, from the atmosphere to the tools and visuals, this looked like a very promising game. I love sci-fi horror games like Alien Isolation and SOMA, and I had a feeling this game would somewhat capture similar feelings I had to those games. I'll start by saying that the visual and sound design is great, especially in the early chapters. That isn't to say cool stuff doesn't appear later on, but I think these aspects are…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Waited 13 years for a game I beat in less than 10 hours. Still worth it for those of us waiting for Alien Isolation 2. I compare it to Still Wakes the Deep. A short, really good horror exploration walking sim.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🌕🤖🐇 ROUTINE is a good game, go play it!
positive · AI labelView post →By far one of the best horror games i've played since Alien Isolation, has a ton of mechanics i've NEVER seen in any games and you can tell they put a lot of love into this. EDIT: I've finished the game with about 7 hours clocked, an hour was used on a difficult puzzle. It's way shorter than I expected but I feel it was worth the price.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've played a lot of terrifying games before, and even some games that have genuinely scared me... But never in my entire life have I played a game where I got so scared that I couldn't physically play it for a whole week. That's how you know the game is phenomenal. I had been following this game since it was announced in 2011, it was surreal seeing Alien Isolation come and go before this, and there was a time where I assumed this would not be released at all. I am so glad that it came out,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Oh, I get it, Routine is a horror game because the aspect ratio on these televisions is... eldritch... and evil...
negative · AI labelView post →I never alt f4'd a horror game in my life before. This game is proper horror. That is all you need to know.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Actual mean take about Routine is that if you're making a single player game there is zero goddamn reason for your pause button to not pause the game
negative · AI labelView post →ROUTINE - Completed ✅ Y'all, this game unnerved me on a level I can hardly explain It NAILS the 'Cassette Futurism' vibes. I felt so completely alone, but in awe of the environments Also, this game is scary. Like, VERY. It takes a turn a few chapters in DON'T spoil it for yourself, just play it
positive · AI labelView post →A Good Horror That's Thirteen Years Late. I guess it is the same case as Silksong. ROUTINE is a passion project made by a handful of passionate developers taking their time to design, to polish, and to make their dream come true. While the walking-simulator-style gameplay may seem "outdated" by today's standard, it is still a very effective formula. Plus, this game wears its inspirations on its sleeves and is not afraid to show them: a simpler stealth survival gameplay of both Alien: Isolation…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →God, Routine has been scaring the absolute pants off me, I don't think I yelped louder playing any other game.
positive · AI labelView post →Amazing game. I just finished it, and I can't quite give high enough praise for just how well the devs managed to immerse the player in the atmosphere. Very minimal UI, most information requires you to actively use your head. The game does not hold your hand - a lot of mechanics require active thinking and searching meticulously through the environment, puzzles are usually fairly simple but can still scramble your brain in such a genius way. I can't tell you how many times I actively said, "I'm…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is exactly what I want games to look like and it has the best sound design I've ever heard. Best example of retrofuturism I think you can find in a game. Overall this scared me way more than I thought it was going to. Definitely worth the price and time. The story is original while bizarre, and you absolutely won't predict what's going on until near the end. Don't spoil it for yourself, just go play it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── You know, if you really think about it, there are two types of games: a game that you play, and a game that plays you. This one right here fits the latter. Routine is a sci-fi psychological horror game that in my opinion explored three human emotions: curiosity, suspense, and loneliness. Curiosity Curiosity itself is a simple yet dangerous emotion. the urge to seek the unknown is a powerful motivator, a double edged sword that can lead humans…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →just fyi this games concept pre dates alien isolation and PT. it was supposed to be out in 2012 but now we finally have it. was it worth the wait? I've heard that this is anywhere from 6 - 8hrs for the 1st play through so at 25 bucks, absolutely. the atmosphere, sound design, and quality are great. no where near the end of the game but i really hope this gets a sequel with a longer playtime, like they say a game doesn't really meet its fullest potential until the sequel. EDIT: after completing…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As one of the people that have been following this project for 10+ years, I was incredibly excited to see it finally come out - but, to my disappointment, there's honestly just very little to the final product, other than some admittedly very, very well done audio & visual styling. 1. The enemies (all *two* of them) are very simplistic - they see you, they walk towards you, you run to a hole where they can't get you out of. You can also (temporarily) stun them with your handheld. And that is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Finished ROUTINE — absolute banger! After completing the game, my first impression was that it's like watching a well-made sci-fi horror movie. The style is consistent, the atmosphere is incredibly unsettling. For me, at least, it feels like a combination of Soma, Dead Space, and Doom 3. You walk around the lunar base, exploring and studying the terminals. There's no task tab, HUD or map — just you, your suit and your C.A.T. You set your own goals by reading various notes and finding your…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Routine is a first person perspective horror Sci-Fi adventure game that takes place inside a lunar base on the moon. In this game you explore futuristic 1980's stylized environments, use a special gun-type device to solve puzzles, and evade various enemies using stealth tactics. The game takes approximately 7 hours to 100% complete without a guide. The game's time is heavily dependent on how fast you solve the game's very intricate puzzles. + First off, the game is extraordinarily immersive.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I waited 12 years for this?? First off: the game is gorgeous, had me clenching my jaw almost all the way through, and featured some really cool mechanics and puzzles I haven't seen in other games. The design of the world is second to none, and the diegetic nature of the controls, navigation, and puzzles had me immersed from the very start. I haven't had to take notes to finish a game in a long time, but for ROUTINE, it was a necessity. Movement felt great, like I was really in a clunky…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is amazing. It was such an immersive experience. ROUTINE looks great, it sounds great and has such an atmosphere that it's really hard for me to describe. If you're fan of SOMA, then you'll like this game :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →No ingame tips, no help, just you, a deserted Moon Station and an AI that wants you dead.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its like Alien Isolation and the Backrooms had a beautiful, nostalgic, subliminal, terrifying baby. We need more games like this! I hope they release dlcs for this bad boy
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →ROUTINE is a sci-fi survival horror game that leans heavily on atmosphere, tension, and isolation rather than constant action. Set on an abandoned lunar base with a retro-futuristic aesthetic inspired by 1970s and 1980s science fiction, the game immediately establishes a sense of unease through its sterile environments, low lighting, and oppressive silence. Exploration is the core of the experience. The moon base is deliberately sparse, with long corridors, maintenance areas, and living…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I’ve been waiting for this game for years… honestly, I thought it would arrive right after flying cars and world peace. But somehow, miraculously, it’s finally here! And it actually looks great so far! I just hope they add an option to turn off the visual noise my eyes weren’t ready for this snowstorm of pixels.” Update: I just finish puzzle simulator... It’s a beautiful game… but it’s honestly incredibly boring 6/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What you get when you cross 2001: A Space Odyssey with SOMA / Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Before you get too excited, ROUTINE is not as good as SOMA, which is admittedly a very high bar, but it shares a similar vibe and gameplay. You explore a weird Moon base, avoid threats, solve basic puzzles, and uncover story. The puzzles are obscure to recognize but easy to solve, so it can take a moment to understand what the game is asking. Navigation is a bit clunky, partly because you have to use your…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →very atmospheric, captures the vibe of an abandoned space station quite well and the enemies are very imposing.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →tldr, my final score is 8/10, I strongly recommend this game if you're into defenseless horror of the psychological kind, and please pay attention to your surroundings, logs, everything this review is spoiler-free I don't write long steam reviews anymore, usually either joke reviews or brief reviews for games I like. but this one, I feel like, deserves a proper one, because presumably like most of you, I've waited damn near half my life for this game, and believe it or not, this is the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Long in development horror game ROUTINE finally launches on December 4 on Xbox (Game Pass) and PC Release Date Trailer ▶️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHB0...
neutral · AI labelView post →I can't really get behind this game. None of the puzzles in the game are really fun. Metaphorically speaking, the game's puzzles feel more like untangling a bunch of wires than anything that's inherently fun. And once you're done untangling them and advance into the next part of the game, you're given another unfun bunch of wires to untangle. I didn't find myself asking, "Oh man, that was fun, what's next?" and instead found myself asking, "What's the game want me to do this time?" The games…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really didn't want to recommend this. The game is clunky as hell. The story is *awful.* The enemies can't catch you. It has some of the worst puzzles I've seen in a video game. It's not Alien Isolation. It's TOO DARK. But...I had fun playing it. I had a good time, entirely because of the atmosphere. The atmosphere is 11/10. Everything in this game is scary: every computer screeches at you, every hallway clangs and bangs when there's nothing there, every corner is pitch black…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →GOTY 2025, a genuinely incredible sleeper hit, DO NOT SPOIL YOURSELF. This game is best played completely blind.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Routine is one of the most fascinating, conflicted, and atmospheric horror games. From the moment it finally launched after roughly thirteen years in development, it grabbed me and pulled me in tight. This game has an incredibly dense atmosphere paired with a palatable, obsessive art direction. You can taste the retro future in every flickering CRT screen, every humming corridor, every echoing footstep. It feels like an alternate history version of the future imagined in the 1980s, brought to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →more game like this. Please. A truly unique inovative game. No HUD, no assists, and absolutely no hand-holding. It feels as if it were ported from a VR title. The sound design, atmosphere, and physics are top-notch. One minus : game is too short.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Routine brings to the foreground one of the most unique soundscapes that I have heard in a long time. Each machine, terminal, robot, light fixture, and door sound exquisite and volatile. Routine is a heavily immersive horror game. How immersive? You can't pause, the game will keep running. A choice that if was badly designed would have harmed the game, but instead, forces the game to shine. The game wants you to pay attention. To be in its world, to understand your role in it.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Here's my review of freshly-released horror game Routine! www.pcgamer.com/games/horror...
neutral · AI labelView post →For a game developed over 13 years by a team of 3 people, you can clearly tell it was a passion project. I went into this thinking it was going to be a little goofy title, not expecting one of the best atmospheres in a game I think I have ever played. Absolutely beautiful environments and interesting storytelling. The writers clearly didn't want to give you an answer but instead pose a question that makes you ponder for a while. I saw people complain about the "combat" which is funny, because…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It seemed to be my thing before I even started, despite bearing the title of some self-aware "cozy game". It's anything but cozy. Getting gripped by the liminal space atmosphere took no effort. I'm a sucker for Kubrickian retrofuturism, especially so impeccably stylised. Man, these blooming shapes and colours adorned by the soft, blurry light! As if an album of vintage space-related stamps my dad used to collect came to life. The stamps probably worth a fortune today, quite unlike your bland…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A remarkable achievement in horror design, graphics and pacing. This game hits all the right spots for me, and is an absolute must-play if you enjoy horror games such as Alien Isolation.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I do think it's fucking stupid as shit to have a GOTY award show in the year like, Routine should be in the discussion for game of the year. Routine is fucking excellent.
positive · AI labelView post →As a long-time fan of this project (I’ve been following it and waiting for its release since the 2012 announcement), I can’t say I’ve been disappointed—at least not in certain aspects. Still, I can’t help but recommend experiencing this piece of art for yourself. The game’s best moments lie in small details you might miss, as well as in a bit of event randomization. I was lucky enough to have a fantastic playthrough on my first run. Let’s start with the pros: • Fantastic graphics and sound…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wish Steam allowed for a middle of the road score. I understand that this game has been in development for what, 13 years? I also understand that it was actually the inspiration for Alien Isolation. Unfortunately, I would say that I prefered Alien Isolation in almost ever way. Your main tool has essentially three modifications, each of which just feels extremely gimmicky, and their use is pretty much instantly thrown out the window the moment you leave its respective area. The game prides…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's an alright short game. I don't really regret purchasing or playing it, but I also can't recommend it much. Outstanding visual and audio design - I love analogue technology aesthetics. Structurally disjointed, with some interesting potential mechanics begging to be utilized more than they ever end up being, in service of a story that is, while vague and deeply symbolic, doesn't seem to have much of anything to really say or thoughts to provoke (the fault could, of course, lie with me). It…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Here's my review of Routine, a very scary horror game that Alien Isolation fans need to play kotaku.com/routine-alie...
neutral · AI labelView post →I’m not someone who gets scared easily in games, but Routine had some really scary moments and jump scares that genuinely f****d my s**t up. Now don’t get me wrong, this isn’t some cheap streamer horrorslop. It has some interesting ideas in the gameplay department, and the puzzles and exploration were solid. The story is open to interpretation, and if you’re into philosophical subjects like creation, purpose, and the nature of humans -or life in general- you’ll enjoy exploring and piecing…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
Posts are quoted from public profiles with links to the original. Want yours removed? Contact us.
