Prison Architect Critic Reviews

Once you’re in, you will – unlike many of my own early inmates – find it very difficult to escape.

Playing will probably mean thinking about issues that you probably didn’t think about. This is something that should be valued in a videogame. I’m as content as the next guy to mindlessly shoot a hundred dudes in a Call of Duty. But I also value games that make me think about something I wasn’t thinking about yesterday. Games that make me feel a way I don’t usually feel. Games that aren’t afraid to present complex subjects in all their complexity, wrangling gameplay into a thought-provoking exercise that is both entertainment and edification. Games like Prison Architect.

Prison Architect is a triumphant simulator that almost perfectly captures the world of prison building and administration.

Prison Architect is arguably one of the most important and disturbing games I’ve ever played.

After five years of development, Introversion Software brings us an amazing game where we can build and manage a maximum security prison.

PA is an entertaining, comprehensive and accessible simulator of prison complex management. If you find this genre at least a little bit interesting, don’t hesitate buying it.

Prison Architect is one of the more unique game releases in years. What would seem daunting at first, with building and managing a prison, quickly reveals to be both an addictive and entertaining gameplay experience.

Plan, build, fail, sell and try again. Behind the functional graphics of Prison Architect there's a complex, motivating and very good prison simulation.

A complex, challenging, and grimly satisfying simulator.

It’s a unique sandbox game that has all the necessary ingredients to hook you, if you let it.

Prison Architect is simply one of the very best management games on sale at the moment.

In many ways, Prison Architect feels like the ‘Theme Prison’ game from Bullfrog’s golden years that we never actually got.

An excellent management simulation that will be a shining example of this genre for years to come.

After a poorly handled start, Prison Architect becomes one of the most in-depth, satisfying builder games in a long time.

When we played Prison Architect for the first time, we could hardly keep our hands off it. Once you started playing it, you can't stop. The quests are challenging and interchangeably, which keeps you busy the whole time. The charming Comic-Look gives no indication of how complex and earnest Prison Architect actually is.

Not only did it successfully complete the early access phase, but it came out as a great gestional experience, set in an unusual environment. If you like the genre, you should really consider this one.

Complex, but easily accessible prison builder with an interesting campaign structure, but also a few bugs here and there, while the micro management can get out of hand sometimes.

A rare gem that was polished to near-perfection during its time in Steam’s Early Access.

Despite its rough edges, Prison Architect provides enough depth and customization to make it compelling. Every riot, escape attempt, and execution brings you a step closer to building the perfect prison – all accompanied by the amusing (and sometimes horrifying) moments that emerge naturally in any good simulation.

Even if Prison Architect didn’t come with a thought provoking, if short, campaign, it’d be easy to recommend to anyone with an interest in management sims. That addition not only brings some depth to the game, but it also serves as one of the most enjoyable and comprehensive tutorials I’ve ever played in a game.