ROUTINE

----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.

Es un juego maravilloso, que te pondra siempre en tension por la cantidad de sonidos mecanicos y de carne que escucharas, y siempre estaras a alerta ante cualquier movimiento. Solo puedo decir que recomiendo mucho este juego, no solo por su apartado visual y artistico que es una maravilla, si no por como manejan el entorno y el uso del sonido ambiental. Los enemigos tienen diseños hermosos y que te aseguran que te asustaran o te daran un poco de lastima dependiendo de tu vista hacia ellos; en especial por la mitad del juego donde todo se torna mucho mas terrorifico. No tengo mas que decir que por favor compren este juego increible que no tiene una duracion larga pero disfrutaran cada minuto.

Best horror game ive ever played hands down. I have spent my entire life playing horror games at this point, with my start being Resident Evil 2 when I was 7. That game shook me back then because I was a kid who was unfamiliar and scared. Nothing has scared me since then in horror games. Now as an adult who is almost 30 this game shook me to my core at some parts. The way they lean into the horror of the unknown, false security, and doom cannot be understated. The aesthetic was immaculate and felt familiar if you grew up in the late 90s even depending on your home, but seemed to be based on the 80s tech look. This added so much to the horror. It has a lot of what made the original Alien movie strong if im honest. The tech is advanced but unreliable at best, and inconvenient when failing. This makes the environment excellent and play so well with the overall atmosphere they tried setting. Highly recommend. Please dont pass this one up.

Genuinely the scariest game I ever played, no game ever made me feel this kind of flight response.

Took me 40 minutes to get past the first tutorial area that anybody would be able to clear within 3 minutes on a subsequent run. Bring a notebook, we're making maps.