The haggard prison warden raised his head as the guard approached his desk.
“Sir? We managed to find this outside the perimeter fence. It seems to have fallen out of his pocket. We’re…we’re still working on how he got the cell phone inside and then managed to escape.”
Prison Architect is a management simulation game in which you build and then run the day to day activities of Pacman Jones’ summer home. It had been in development as an Early Access title for years, but has now finally been released in its full glory. Don’t let the cartoony graphics and light interface fool you. This game is brutal. In my first game I only built a single perimeter fence. I kept wondering why some inmates would walk way over to a corner and hang out for a few seconds, then come back to the central yard. It was when the riot broke out and one gang started stabbing the shit out of another that I realized they were being tossed knives and shivs from over the fence.
I could point you at a couple different reviews, but the short of it is this: if you find management games with a kind of self driven, dynamic narrative fun, Prison Architect is fantastic. (And we know how I like similar games) I’ve been pretty thoroughly addicted to it since I bought it a few days ago. Each prisoner has their own characteristics that affect how violent, obedient, and tough they are, as well as specific needs. It’s up to you if you grant them that.
You never forget your first time ordering a guard to brutally beat a prisoner that has accosted a cook, then throw him in solitary. Or when somebody goes all Ray Lewis on another prisoner in the showers. There’s equal fun in running a dark, soul crushing prison of chaos, and an efficient machine of rehabilitation. There’s no real wrong way to play.
Anyway, it’s worth checking out, and is 33% off at the moment.
So DFO, what’s getting your drive hard this weekend?
Dammit, I missed this post on Saturday.
This game is beyond excellent. I’ve had it since… well, once it hit Steam as Early Access. The dev also created Darwinia, one of my favorite games.
Some of kickstarter rewards allowed users to create their likeness in the game, including backstories of why they are in jail. Reading some of the profiles of prisoners is enjoyable and a cool little way to get people really invested in your game. Plus, adding Steam Workshop integration was a brilliant move, allowing new players a chance to d/l a user created prison in order to understand more about the game.
So, can I take out the weights and feed them all food laced with estrogen? Asking for a friend…
You can take away their weights, as well as change the quality and quantity of food. So, kind of?
Nice! That’s actually along the lines of what I was thinking. This is a well-thought-out game!
I don’t do much non-console gaming (and that’s pretty much just a dabble anymore) but this was a great read.
The DFO blood smear is truly inspired. I’ve been interested in this one for a while. I will definitely pick this up at some point.
I just picked up Hoplite for my phone and I’ve been a bit obsessed with it. And I’m still overpowering my way through Fallout 3, one gauss rifle round at a time.
Ha, yeah, I’ve snuck a “DFO” into all my game post banner images.
With phone games though, I’ll admit that’s something I just don’t have any interest in for whatever reason. I think the heavily microtransaction dominated market has a lot to do with it.
Yeah. Those types suck. This one is three or four dollars for the whole game, and is a perfect mix of just a few easily understandable elements that lead to endless variations–and it’s the kind of tough that only depends on how smart you are playing it.