Reoffending chance: 100%

Prison Architect is an innovative simulation game that puts players in charge of building and managing a correctional facility of dubious ethical standards. The game isn't very challenging if you know what you're doing, but it's a nice little project to work on. I'm not a fan of Paradox's changes and their monetization policy but you get what you get, I suppose.

The game has a satisfying gameplay cycle, from planning the layout of cells, canteens, and other facilities to hiring staff and managing prisoner needs, the placement of everything impacts travel time and general unrest in the prison. Players must juggle various factors, such as security, prisoner morale, and budget constraints, to ensure their prison remains secure. Each prisoner is an individual with unique traits and behavior patterns, including possible gang connections or secret traits for extra problematic cases.

This is unfortunately just about the only dynamic and unpredictable element to the management process. Playing with the random events enabled is a must, they periodically cause incidents in the prison which puts your redundancy to the test, from the generators exploding or budget cuts outside of your control. Without these, the game is repetitive and offers little to entice the player once the prison is constructed. That's the main issue of Prison Architect, really. Every game just plays out the same, although the first prisons you'll build will be satisfying in the attempt of getting one that functions, and those first one or two dozen hours are where the game is best.

Regardless, the game is still a fun little management test, get it when it's on sale. I can't comment on the DLC since I never got any but I'm sure their respective reviews will do them justice.

[b]Reoffending chance: 100%[/b] Prison Architect is an innovative simulation game that puts players in charge of building and managing a correctional facility of dubious ethical standards. The game isn't very challenging if you know what you're doing, but it's a nice little project to work on. I'm not a fan of Paradox's changes and their monetization policy but you get what you get, I suppose. The game has a satisfying gameplay cycle, from planning the layout of cells, canteens, and other facilities to hiring staff and managing prisoner needs, the placement of everything impacts travel time and general unrest in the prison. Players must juggle various factors, such as security, prisoner morale, and budget constraints, to ensure their prison remains secure. Each prisoner is an individual with unique traits and behavior patterns, including possible gang connections or secret traits for extra problematic cases. This is unfortunately just about the only dynamic and unpredictable element to the management process. Playing with the random events enabled is a must, they periodically cause incidents in the prison which puts your redundancy to the test, from the generators exploding or budget cuts outside of your control. Without these, the game is repetitive and offers little to entice the player once the prison is constructed. That's the main issue of Prison Architect, really. Every game just plays out the same, although the first prisons you'll build will be satisfying in the attempt of getting one that functions, and those first one or two dozen hours are where the game is best. Regardless, the game is still a fun little management test, get it when it's on sale. I can't comment on the DLC since I never got any but I'm sure their respective reviews will do them justice.