Prison Architect Review

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CONCLUSION

Prison Architect has been in the spotlight for over 3 years, and in that time I think that Introversion Software have done things right. I believe it has used crowd funding to its advantage, and it has made what I deem to be a successful game in its own right. Especially with all the early access and Kickstarter games currently on the market with no guarantee that they will ever come to fruition, now is the time for Introversion Software to prove that this method of funding a game can make it a success. If they keep to their word and continue to push out monthly updates then I can say this game is totally worth its current selling price. As at present what you receive for your money is a fully fleshed out and well designed Prison Simulator, which can only get better with future updates.

The only issue that I had with the game itself was upon loading the game the second time it jumped me straight into the sandbox mode. This kind of threw me a little as I was expecting to see a title screen or to continue from where I was in the campaign. Once I realised that I just needed to open the menu and load the campaign to continue from where I was previously, this resolved the confusion and I was expectant of it the next time I loaded the game. I do think that it is strange that they have opted for the game to open in this manner but at the end of the day it is not that big a deal to complain about.

I have been watching Prison Architect throughout its development and have always been on the fence to whether it would be a game that I would spend my hard earned cash on (hence it sitting on my Steam wish list for over a year). Now, after getting the opportunity to actually play the game, I can say that this is certainly a game for me and wish I had taken the plunge sooner. I found myself growing attached to my inmates, wanting them to reform their criminal ways and return to a life a better citizen. But time and time again I seen them return to a life of crime and re-enter my prison.

Prison Architect with its cartoony graphics, detailed sprites and immersive music does well to make an enjoyable game from what is considered such a dark and sensitive matter. During my time with the game I tended to be a more lenient architect, with emphasis on recreation and reformation of my prisoners. How would you go about running your prison? Drop us a comment and let us know.