One of the best horror games of 2025 was recently released earlier this month, and it’s an Xbox Series X console exclusive. Any given year, the Xbox Series X doesn’t have many console-exclusive games, let alone overly compelling ones, which makes this release, in particular, noteworthy. Furthermore, the game is available via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and has been since its launch. How long it will be available via the subscription service, we do not know, but it saves subscribers from a $24.99 purchase.
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Right now, Lunar Software and Raw Fury’s Routine is sitting at a 79 on Metacritic, a solid return, especially for a horror game. For those who do not know, horror games, on average, score lower than just about every other genre. At 79, Routine is not the highest-rated horror game of the year — that honor belongs to 86-rated Silent Hill f — but it is in the top 10. And this is unlikely to change, given that its Metacritic score has finally settled and given that the year is almost over.
About the Game
If this is your first time hearing about Routine, it is a first-person science-fiction horror game and the debut release from Lunar Software. Accompanying its 79 on Metacritic, it has 4/5 stars on the Xbox Store, and a 93% rating on Steam.
“Routine is a first-person science-fiction horror title set on an abandoned lunar base designed around an 80s vision of the future,” reads an official pitch of the game from the aforementioned duo. “Curious exploration turns into a need for survival when a lunar base goes completely quiet. Searching for answers puts you face-to-face with an enemy who is certain the main threat is you. Discoveries lead to deeper unknowns, and the only way to go is forward.”
Whether Routine will forever be an Xbox Series X console exclusive, probably not. It will probably come to PS5, and maybe even Nintendo Switch 2. Until then, it is actually the second highest-rated Xbox Series X console exclusive of the year, behind only Avowed.
In particular, if you enjoy atmospheric horror games that put a strong emphasis on worldbuilding and tension, Routine is probably going to deeply scratch and itch for you. That said, the gameplay at times can be a bit simple and clunky, so keep this in mind.
All of that said, and as always, feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think, or join the conversation over on the ComicBook Forum.
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