Prison Architect Reviews

Prison Architect is ranked in the 79th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Guardian
Top Critic
Oct 9, 2015

How difficult could it be to build a jail and keep everyone inside? With this impressively detailed simulation, you're about to find out

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95 / 100
Oct 6, 2015

The game is so deep that no review can capture all you will see and do in Prison Architect, but rarely does a simulation game hit on all levels from building down to micromanagement so well. Prison Architect overcomes a few minor glitches to earn extraordinary status, and is a must-play for anyone looking to kill some time punishing crime.

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9 / 10.0
Oct 20, 2015

Prison Architect started out as a diamond in the rough and has been polished and hewn into a truly unique gaming experience. Introversion Software can be proud that they've built Prison Architect the right way and created an exceptional game unrivalled by many in the industry.

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GameSpew
Top Critic
9 / 10
Oct 19, 2015

Prison Architect does have a campaign mode (if you can call it that), but it's a bit subsided… where it does shine though is in its storytelling

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8.8 / 10.0
Oct 6, 2015

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. While minor bugs can still be found from time to time, these don't distract from the overall enjoyment of creating the perfect prison. Entrepreneurial prison designers, this is the game you need to buy.

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88%
Aug 12, 2016

I have enjoyed the game, and every hour spent playing for my Prison Architect review was certainly worth it. It is very addictive, with tons of content to enjoy across all its modes. You can play the game as you see fit, and the amount of freedom you have is incredible.

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8.8 / 10.0
Oct 9, 2015

Prison Architect takes a while to get the hang of, but once the basics have been mastered, it offers multiple options for experimentation in its impressive sandbox. The Campaign and Escape modes give a good change of pace, while the quirky art-style and dark undertones grab the player's attention.

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87 / 100
Oct 15, 2015

A complex, challenging, and grimly satisfying simulator.

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87 / 100
Jul 1, 2016

Introversion Software and Double Eleven did a superb job making sure Prison Architect was more than your typical simulation game.

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8.5 / 10.0
Oct 6, 2018

I like computer books. I have a shelf packed with programming textbooks, stories about the industry, and a library of eBooks on various languages I learn and work with. I also have one oddity published by O'Reily called Getting Started With Dwarf Fortress.    Of course Dwarf Fortress is not a programming language, but a game. An infamous game known for an incredible depth of complexity and one of the worst user interfaces ever built. Aside the fact that the game is comprised entirely of ASCII characters, it is difficult enough to parse that it has its own sizeable text box. A shame considering it is one of the most unique and wonderful games around.I never mastered Dwarf Fortress, but it stoked the fires of my interest in the simulation genre and as the years have gone by there have been plenty of interesting clones of the game. Prison Architect is one such game, and while it chooses to ditch the mind boggling scope of Dwarf Fortress and focus the player on a singular task, it is not any worse off or lacking in depth because of this. After hanging around on PC, it has made its way to the Nintendo Switch, making it (for now...Rimworld, anyone?) the only notable title like it on the console.

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8.5 / 10.0
Jun 28, 2016

Prison Architect is a fantastic strategy sim which highlights both the difficulty of running a prison and keeping a lot of prisoners happy.

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85 / 100
Jul 1, 2016

Great for returning lifers, or first time criminals looking for a great builder experience.

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85 / 100
Oct 6, 2015

I recommend the game wholeheartedly to that certain brand of gamer that gets satisfaction out of building intricate little machines and watching them go. It's a unique sandbox game that has all the necessary ingredients to hook you, if you let it.

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8.5 / 10.0
Nov 17, 2015

In many ways, Prison Architect feels like the 'Theme Prison' game from Bullfrog's golden years that we never actually got. Certainly, if Prison Architect's extended stint in Early Access was any indication, developer Introversion, much like the aforementioned legendary British developer, had no shortage of ambition and this is certainly something that has translated into the final product because minor niggles aside, Prison Architect is a one-of-a-kind prison building experience rife with emergent stories the caliber of which we haven't seen in some time.

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IGN
Top Critic
8.3 / 10.0
Oct 6, 2015

Prison Architect is one of the most in-depth, satisfying builder games in ages, if you can get past the initiation.

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8.3 / 10.0
Jul 17, 2016

Excellent Sandbox with a pointless tutorial

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8.3 / 10.0
May 16, 2016

Prison Architect is in good company with games like Papers, Please, providing great entertainment value without obstructing its sobering social commentary.

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8.2 / 10.0
Aug 15, 2016

Despite the occasional bug and some derpy AI here and there, Prison Architect is a solid title that hits all the right notes for simulation fans, taking an obscure concept and transforming it into a fun game that delivers hundreds of hours of playtime.

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8 / 10
Oct 14, 2015

A great simulation game that recalls the glory days of Theme Hospital et al. Although at times it almost feels like a psychology study of the player rather than the inmates.

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Metro GameCentral
Top Critic
8 / 10
Jul 11, 2016

A great simulation game that works impressively well on consoles. Although at times it almost feels like a psychology study of the player rather than the inmates.

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