![prison architect warden mode prison architect warden mode](https://venturebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Screenshot-2016-01-27-at-14.46.59.png)
I like running across random, unscripted events. The depth of this simulation is staggering. It feels a little silly, however, when nobody’s available for those smaller jobs, such as rotating the garbage bin, or moving the staff room's pool table a smidge to the right. Watching each individual workman lay a foundation or erect a wall is great watching them swarm a job site to put up a new structure gets slow, but never old. You have to, essentially, put in a work order for that chair to be moved, then you have to wait for an available workman to make their way over to the chair, then the workman physically moves it. Like how you can't just place a chair and move it a few feet to the left to make room for a bed. The game is wide open in some ways, but quite specific in others. I'm working on the architect part of the simulation. I mean, it seems obvious, considering the source material, but there are 187s, mob boss family ties, corruption running up and down the spine of the prison system. Prison Architect's story mode has a shank or two hidden up its sleeve. And drama on a level that has games like Grand Theft Auto and Hotline Miami in mind when it comes to its brazen nature. I thought I’d get a pat on the butt and a "Good luck, kid" to send me on my way. Looking at the visuals, I didn't expect a whole lot of narrative to be going on. Yes, the tutorial is a gradual introduction to all things Prison Architect, but it's a story mode, too. I mentioned that there's a tutorial, but that's only part of the deal. The real hook for me, at least in the beginning, is the storytelling. There are tech and research trees that cover everything from the obvious, such as security, maintenance, and death row, all the way to the not-so obvious, such as routing the prison’s income into an offshore tax haven, or getting a psychologist on payroll, or running educational reform programs. There are bureaucratic levels extending in every direction.
Prison architect warden mode full#
It’s not long before you’re staring at a very full plate. Prison Architect is a deep, deep sim builder with roots reaching into in-depth reporting, logistics, staffing, top-to-bottom construction, and emergency countermeasures. I'd reviewed its second cousin, The Escapists, enjoying its slick soundtrack and confident 8-bit graphics, but never falling in love with The Escapists’ escape-the-room shtick.ĭespite near identical top-down floor plan visuals, The Escapists and Prison Architect are different species entirely. If I'm being honest, I didn't expect to like Prison Architect all that much. Not all inmates do all of these things, but all inmates do some of these things.
![prison architect warden mode prison architect warden mode](https://images.nintendolife.com/screenshots/91895/large.jpg)
But in addition to that, they need a place to get some fresh air, to visit with friends and family, to read, to work, to pray. You’ll build them a place to eat, a place to sleep, a place-interestingly enough-to feel safe.
![prison architect warden mode prison architect warden mode](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/wdESWignmSRK79tsBLph6K.jpg)
Addressing every level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is done through infrastructure, the stuff you build. But there are layers to prison building that I had no clue about, going in. No, the ecosystem you build in Prison Architect is so much more intricate. Like in SimCity, for instance: Build a residential zone, build a commercial strip, then get some industrial jobs in there but not too close. Before I’d played it, I was fairly certain that it’d have a more straightforward building model. That’s the stuff that’s been blowing my mind about Prison Architect.