Prison Architect Preview

I picked up Prison Architect during it's recent sale on Steam, and gave it a whirl. It's an early access game, but it's still a lot of fun as it is already. To think that there will be much more to come only helps to build the excitement I have for this game!

As far as I can tell, the basics are all in place. You've got your prisoners, your prison staff, and the various buildings and areas you can construct. What is in place seems to mostly be working well, and quite enjoyable to play with as it is.

My Prison in Prison Architect

For my prison, I've built up a decent number of cells, a little cafeteria, some places for the inmates to do work, and a reasonable security force to keep everyone in line. There's a lot going on, and a lot to learn, so I was very thankful for the extremely helpful tutorial when I first loaded up the game.

It's fascinating watching my prisoners follow the regime to the letter, and seeing my guards do their work. I could watch them sniff out contraband, go on patrol, get tired, get injured, break up fights, stop escape attempts, and so much more. When I first started developing my prison into the little fortress it is now, I didn't have a perimeter wall. I couldn't afford it. And of course, as a result, prisoners got it into their head that escape was very easy because there wasn't much to stop them. No armed guards, no walls, easy access to freedom, and the result was that escape attempts were plentiful. When I finally got my act together, the escapees dropped dramatically. The prisoners had a brain in them! Ah, these little things just amaze me, and really help make playing Prison Architect a wonderful experience.

If this game seems like it could be interesting to you, check it out! I am thoroughly enjoying this game myself at the moment, so I hope you get a chance to play it yourself. You can learn more on their site at http://www.introversion.co.uk/prisonarchitect/