Immersion is vital to the success of a horror game. While a strong narrative, a monstrous entity, and an atmospheric setting are needed, immersion is the glue that brings them all together to form a cohesive whole. One that sets your teeth on edge because of how tightly your jaw is clenched. ROUTINE is saturated with an unsettling ambiance, not least because of its minimalist UI.
- The Escapist recaps
- Nowhere to hide
- Panic! At the lunar base – Closing the God-damned airlock
- Pack lightly – or not at all
- Ask The Escapist
By limiting the UI so that it’s essentially non-existent, the tension of ROUTINE effortlessly comes through, with the result being easily one of the best horror experiences of 2025. That’s quite the feat, considering horror is experiencing a boom in the video games industry. As a masterpiece in sci-fi horror, ROUTINE has set a new standard for immersion in the genre.
The Escapist recaps
- ROUTINE is a sci-horror experience from Lunar Software and Raw Fury that strips back its user interface.
- Although players can bring up the menu for the settings or to quit, there’s no map, inventory, or conventional type of UI.
- By being unable to properly pause the game or bide time arranging inventory, you become more deeply immersed in ROUTINE’s desolate and creepy lunar base.
- ROUTINE isn’t the first horror game to strip back its UI; however, the way it’s streamlined the experience has undoubtedly set a new standard for horror games moving forward.
Nowhere to hide
A horror game’s UI is a safety net we rely upon, oftentimes without recognizing how much respite it provides. We pause during intense combat scenes, allowing ourselves a moment to catch our breath, or we reorganize our inventory to stall fighting the next enemy. ROUTINE, however, removes this shield, essentially leaving us exposed and vulnerable.
Raw Fury’s ROUTINE game has taken the reduced UI of Dead Space and has minimized it further, in a similar way to how Hell Is Us did too. Not only are you unable to pause the action, but now you can’t hide in the menu waiting for your heart rate to slow.
In having no cumbersome UI, ROUTINE creates realism despite its sci-fi setting; we view the world unhindered, much like when we’re alone in our home. The only difference with ROUTINE is that there are enemies out for blood, even when you want to take a second to update your C.A.T.
Panic! At the lunar base – Closing the God-damned airlock
Without your trusty security blanket, panic undoubtedly sets in. And without a map to guide you, that disquiet building all around you is set to break into full hysteria. In a game where enemies chase you, knowing your way helps you better avoid their lethal attacks. Yet in ROUTINE, you’re mapless. Does this dark corridor herald your salvation, or is it the other, equally dank hallway?
Having to rely on your wits alone is all the better for immersion, even more so because, due to the enormous stress you’re under, you’re too scared witless to navigate well. Panic personified is what the ROUTINE game’s minimal UI gifts you. And as any horror fan will agree, panic is the sign of an exceptional experience.
Horror gets the adrenaline pumping, or at least it should. Unfortunately, a lack of immersion – that disconnect between the player and the game – can leave you underwhelmed rather than overwhelmed. Despite wishing to avoid anxiety at all costs in everyday life, in the depths of a horror game, we aim to be constantly on edge.
Pack lightly – or not at all
ROUTINE has no inventory system whatsoever, which is quite the learning curve for hoarders such as myself. Having found Silent Hill f’s inventory system far too restrictive, to have nothing at all is a frustrating challenge to overcome. Still, it intensifies the immersive qualities of this atmospheric masterpiece.
There aren’t an abundance of items to salvage, other than keycards, modules for the C.A.T., and batteries. In other titles, gameplay would have you collecting these resources so that you end up with 10 plus batteries ready to go the moment your current one dies, but not ROUTINE’s gameplay. You need to watch your battery bar, make note of the codes you find, and insert C.A.T. modules right away (which automatically happens upon finding them).
Batteries aren’t exactly scarce in ROUTINE, yet they feel like they are. You can’t stockpile them because you’re being chased by enemies, the game doesn’t stop them from hurting you even if you pause it, and you can’t tell where you need to go next because there’s no map. All in all, you feel under pressure despite batteries being discarded like litter in London.
When you’re forced to adapt your usual play style, you put yourself in the mental state of someone fighting for survival. That’s the power of a minimal UI when executed well in a horror game: it bridges the gap between reality and fiction so that you feel like you’ve stepped from one into the other. Now that we’ve experienced it in ROUTINE, there’s no going back.
Ask The Escapist
Your C.A.T. can momentarily stun enemies, but there are no weapons as such. Instead, you need to sneak your way past the threats standing in your way.
Much like being stuck with its streamlined UI, you’re locked into the game’s set difficulty. For fans of survival horror, this won’t be a walk in the park, but it also won’t feel as challenging to you as to an inexperienced horror gamer.
ROUTINE’s release date was 4 December.
If you have nerves of steel or are prepared to anxiously cry, then you can play ROUTINE on Steam, Xbox Series S/X, and Xbox One.
Last Updated On: Dec 16, 2025 1:33 pm CET