Random Video Game Review - Prison Architect

 

Pretty sure I don't need to explain what a prison is, so playing this should be no problem. So as I have reviewed a number of crowdfunded games recently, I felt it's time to look at another one. So this started out as a crowdfunded paid alpha pre-order before becoming an entrant in the 2012 Independent Games Festival and then finally ending up on Steam Early Access until its official release in late 2015. Then in 2019, the game (which at the time was independently published by the developers themselves) was sold to Paradox Interactive, who acquired the rights to all versions of the game for an undisclosed sum. But enough about the history. Let's build a prison or two:

The game plays out as a 2D and occasional 3D top down construction and management simulation. The player has been hired by this CEO of a for-profit prison company to take control of buildings and run a prison or two. You are of course responsible for the architecture of the prison and also serve as the governor with a wide array of responsibilities. One of which is hiring staff which, depending on what they can do, can unlock further aspects of the game such as the finances which can only be seen by hiring an accountant. Speaking of which, you are responsible for that as well as meeting the needs and requirements of the prisoners, which includes running reform and labour programmes. You can also indirectly tell prisoners what to do by setting out their schedule. You can add additional conditions to add a bit of difficulty to the game and be closer to accuracy when it comes to real life prisons. Each prison is graded by an in-game report which looks at various factors within your prison. Each prisoner is ranked depending on their sentence length and the crimes they committed and are placed accordingly into their respective prison types such as minimal security, maximum security and death row. Some death row prisoners can be proven innocent, but time is of the essence. You can also have a female prison if you wish. The CEO can fire the player at any point by reaching a failure condition such as failing to stop a riot, failing to keep the prison sustainable, too many prisoner deaths and so on. The game also has a story based tutorial as well as a mode in which you play as a prisoner and cause a heap of trouble. And yes, for all you Arkham Asylum fans, you can also have criminally insane prisoners too and make the necessary facilities for those kinds of prisoners.

The game is alright for what it is. It goes in depth with the whole idea of making a prison and maintaining it to meet high standards. Very few games go in depth with things like this, and it's nice to see it here too. Very satisfying and fun and definitely worth a play if you have the time. 9/10