Prison Architect review

Prison Architect Review

Please Note: This game is in its alpha stage and is still being developed so certain aspects of the game may change before release. Therefore please take any criticism from this review with a pinch of salt since it may be changed/removed prior to the games full release.

When you think of the construction/management simulator genre of videogames, chances are you might think of games like Theme Park, Theme Hospital, Roller Coaster Tycoon and various others. At first thought, building a prison might not sound as fun as building the worlds greatest theme park, but there is a surprising amount of things to do and situations to consider that make Prison Architect not only good, but can keep you playing for hours if you know what you’re doing.

As the title suggests, Prison Architect puts you in the position of designing and building a prison from scratch, keeping inmates calm and making the most efficient prison you possibly can. When you start the game for the first time, you’re given the option to build a small, medium or large scale prison. You have 24 in-game hours to build a basic prison, which should consist of a holding cell, showers, canteen, office, kitchen and a yard. You should also make sure that your prison has electricity and water running throughout.

This is a small section of the first prison I made.

As you can tell from the screenshot, the somewhat simplistic graphics have a certain charm to them, and for a game like this, trying to make everything look ultra-realistic may not have worked as intended, so I think the simple approach to the presentation was a smart call on the developers part. Of course, improvements to the graphics may happen as the game is further developed but I think this style suits the game well.

In terms of gameplay, Prison Architect is very much like any other construction/management simulator, build a basic structure and expand from that. You have a budget to work with as well so any very complex building will have to wait until later on. To get more money to build a better prison and facilities, your best option is to get a grant; these grants will give you a generous amount of money to use, but in return there are certain conditions you have to follow. For example, you may receive a grant for $40,000 and the condition is to build an infirmary, morgue and execution chamber. The other main gameplay feature of Prison Architect is the prisoners themselves. Trying to keep them in check and not have a full-scale riot on your hands can be hard if you don’t provide adequate facilities for them.

One way to try and prevent this from happening is by hiring guards. As you might expect guards will patrol the prison keeping the prisoners in line and will not hesitate to bring out the batons if things go sour. Other staff members you can hire include a warden, doctor/nurse and a janitor. These members of staff are nearly always at risk because if a riot does break out, there’s a reasonably high chance that one of them will be injured/incapacitated. If a staff member is injured and out of action, you can’t just hire another one straight away since the hiring system works on a cool-down timer.

The main complaint I have with this game, and indeed a lot of other people have the same complaint; is the price. It’s available on Steams Early Access store page for £19.99/$29.99, which is a lot for a game that is still in alpha. And there are three more purchase options available, for £22.99 you’ll get the game and the soundtrack and artbook once they are completed. For £25.99 you’ll receive the game, soundtrack, artbook and all the other games in the developers library. (Uplink, Darwinia, DEFCON and Mulitwinia) And finally for £32.99 you get all of the above and you can create a prisoner that will be in the game when the next update is rolled out.

You get to name and write a bio for a prisoner, but is it really worth £32.99?

Overall then, Prison Architect is a very competent construction/management simulator with lots to do and it has the potential to keep you playing for hours; however the price may be a major turn-off for most people seeing as though the game is still in an alpha state. If you are interested and don’t mind parting with a bit more money, you’ll have a good time but after a while you may feel you overpaid for it. Otherwise your best option is to either wait for a proper release (which may take some time considering how long its been in alpha) or wait for a sale.

Prison Architect is available now on Steam Early Access for Windows, Mac and Linux. Prices start at £19.99/$29.99