Those checking off their list of gaming’s white whales after the launch of Hollow Knight: Silksong, take note – Lunar Software’s ROUTINE is finally launching on December 4th. Check out the announcement trailer below.
First announced in 2012, ROUTINE is a sci-fi survival horror where players venture through a lunar base filled with dangerous robots. That’s the same year that Borderlands 2, Far Cry 3, Mass Effect 3 and more launched, and almost all of them have received sequels (we don’t talk about Mass Effect: Andromeda).
What separates it from the likes of Alien: Isolation is permadeath. And just in case you think that trial and error through the same environments will save the day, there’s a bit of procedural generation at play. That also applies to the enemies, so you’ll never truly know where they’re coming from on any given run.
While there could be another delay, Lunar Software confirmed in July that development was approaching the “finish line.” It even released some new gameplay, highlighting the hacking mechanics and the importance of stealth.
ROUTINE will be available for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One on release. Check out our interview with the team from 2014 to learn more about its setting and compare how much it’s changed since.
