Prison Architect

 PC
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 36 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 36
  3. Negative: 0 out of 36
  1. GameSpot
    Oct 13, 2015
    70
    The loss of humanity Prison Architect breeds in its players could be its greatest strength, but without even an acknowledgement of that loss, the game stumbles instead of teaches.
  2. Kill Screen
    Oct 6, 2015
    55
    Simulations can distort for good, and so help us resist, or ill, and obscure the forces that corral hearts and minds. Every system locks us up. But sims like Prison Architect throw away the keys.
This publication does not provide a score for their reviews.
This publication has not posted a final review score yet.
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In Progress & Unscored

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  1. Rock, Paper, Shotgun
    Dec 7, 2015
    Even if it doesn’t fully satisfy my desire for followable characters, it is still an excellent story-making game.

Awards & Rankings

35
#35 Best PC Game of 2015
61
#61 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015
21
#21 Most Shared PC Game of 2015

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 297 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 230 out of 297
  2. Mixed: 50 out of 297
  3. Negative: 17 out of 297
  1. matheus_hk
    Oct 31, 2013
    9
    It's a 9 on alpha and very likely to hit 10 when it's finished.
    (Almost) anything is possible. From the hole with forced labor and solitary    It's a 9 on alpha and very likely to hit 10 when it's finished.
    (Almost) anything is possible. From the hole with forced labor and solitary confinement just for harassment and lots of beating to the human-rights-activists-utopia-penal-spa that will make your prisoners eager to kill someone as soon as they're released just to be allowed back in.

    Unlike what other reviews said, I didn't have any problems playing the game. The prisoners will try to escape if they're not happy and will riot if their condition makes it look worth getting beat up for a chance on escaping. That's what prisoners do. They smuggle stuff, they dig tunnels, they fight... they're not highly-educated and moralist citizens in a hotel. They want to get out. If things are really bad they'll die trying.

    But the alpha and the "early access" aren't just for show. The game is still under development and they make it very clear that they're focusing on new content rather than bug fixing. You'll notice lots of useless features (that will mention that they're useless in this alpha build). You'll have prisons stop working after monthly new release. The cool glitches you exploited may be fixed while the bugs that annoyed you are still there.

    It's really expensive. But it's fun enough to make it worth.

    If you have no problems with paying lots of money for the alpha early access, it's a good purchase. But you can always wait until the development is done and hope for price to go down or a cool sale to make it less expensive.    … Full Review »
  2. Errtai
    Sep 1, 2013
    6
    Bought on sale for $17.99 in the alpha stages. I understand exactly what buying in the alpha means, and I wasn't expecting a polished or evenBought on sale for $17.99 in the alpha stages. I understand exactly what buying in the alpha means, and I wasn't expecting a polished or even completed game of any sort. That being said, what I did not expect was not being able to play the game at all, as prisoners spend 24/7 trying to escape from the moment they entered (yes there was a double-fence around the entire compound with no cracks), or standing in their cells unresponsive to any schedule I set or orders I placed. Staff would stand there doing nothing, janitors wouldn't sweep no matter what I tried.

    I'm fine with bugs, and helping the devs find those bugs, but I was kinda hoping the game was playable for that price.

    Positives are it looks great, handles pretty nicely, and is very intuitive right up until it stops working.    … Full Review »
  3. Vyii
    Jan 20, 2016
    2
    The game is unplayable after a few 100 prisoners because it's single threaded and one core can't keep up with the game's needs. The FPS willThe game is unplayable after a few 100 prisoners because it's single threaded and one core can't keep up with the game's needs. The FPS will drop a lot because of this. This is a game breaking bug so I don't recommend this game to other people anymore. If it would be playable the game would be a very fun game though.… Full Review »
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