Xbox-exclusive horror game finally releases after 13 years of development hell
Halloween is indeed over, but that doesn't mean you have to stop celebrating the spooky season.
We might have to wait until next year for Resident Evil Requiem, even longer for the much-hyped Alien: Isolation sequel, but Xbox fans are in luck as another major game is going bump in the night.
A lot of the recent horror conversation has been taken up by the terrifying Silent Hill F, which brought Konami's stalled series back for its first mainline entry in 13 years.
It seems 13 isn't as unlucky as you might think, as an Xbox-exclusive title has finally come to Microsoft's console some 13 years after it was first revealed.
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Although we rightly feared that Lunar Software's Routine might never be released, the UK-based developer has finally unleashed its horrors onto the world.
Coming on December 4, publisher Raw Fury has confirmed that Routine will be here in time for Christmas on Xbox.
There's unfortunately no news on whether it will be released on PS5 or Nintendo Switch, but at least the Green Team can celebrate.
Looking like a mix between Silent Hill and Starfield, Routine throws you straight in as an unnamed protagonist who has to explore a lunar facility that's been mysteriously abandoned and left only hostile robots roaming around.
Upping the frights thanks to its first-person perspective, Routine looks like a pretty standard survival horror that focuses more on scares than action.
You're equipped with a Cosmonaut Assistance Tool (C.A.T), which is a device used for combat and environmental interaction. It looks like it'll be a particularly gruelling game, as permadeath is set to make things increasingly difficult, as well as a lack of first aid kits.
Impressively, Routine has procedurally generated enemies and landscapes, as well as the option of alternate endings.
Inspired by movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey and games like Doom 3, lead designer Aaron Foster wanted to "start pushing the reasons why people interact with a game," saying that he thinks games "should mean something more than pressing the right buttons to trigger cutscenes." But, why has it taken 13 years to get here?
Following its announcement at Gamescom 2012, Routine was quickly approved for Steam release through the platform's Greenlight program. Lunar Software was originally targeting a spring 2013 release for PC, although things soon started to fall apart. As well as citing financial difficulties, the title slipped into development hell because the studio was unhappy with the direction it was heading in.
Development updates stopped in 2017, leading many to believe Routine would never see the light of day. Thankfully, it was reannounced at 2022's Summer Game Fest and has risen from the dead like one of its rogue robots.
With the end in sight, Routine will hit Xbox One, Xbox Series, and Windows PC next month. For fans of horror games, this is one to look out for under your Christmas tree.