Overview: Build and maintain a prison. See to the needs of the prisoners as you see fit.
20190721:
I recently decided on making sure I broke even on my Humble Bundle purchases. As such, I needed to play a second game* from my most recent purchase: Humble Very Positive Bundle 3.
Although I was originally skeptic about enjoying the game, I was captured by the story and stayed for the gameplay. In fact, there was a point where the game gave me the option to proceed with the story (I had finished all the mandatory objectives in the second campaign level) but instead I got hooked on completing the optional objectives and improving the prison. This was especially easy to do because there is a lot of cash available to the player (which would not be the case in sandbox mode).
Gameplay:
Completed all the objectives in Death Row.
Completed all the objectives in Palermo.
Continued playing and trying to accomplish various grants. Many grants were already satisfied.
Steam Game Time: 6.2 hours
*I previously played Bendy and the Ink Machine (PC) (2017).
Thoughts:
Pros:
+ A lot of options
+ There's a story line; from what I can tell it doubles as a tutorial
+ Reasonably easy to learn; the game introduces mechanics at a good pace
+ Steam Workshop offers a lot of content
Cons:
- Some difficulty with the UI; in particular, removing objects needs to be easier
- Some of the quick-build options are useful, but considering the clone tool is limited, I wish the quick-build option were better.
Unknown:
? I read the game has an Escape Mode where the player becomes a prisoner and tries to escape a prison.
? I have not yet played the main game: Sandbox Mode.
Summary:
I know I could spend a lot of time with this game. I know I could easily reach a hundred hours on it. However, I must resist this temptation - at least for now.
While I have only played part of the Campaign Mode (i.e., tutorial), I easily put six hours into the game and I can just imagine how much fun the Sandbox Mode would be. From what I've been able to gather, the Sandbox Mode can also be a challenge because presumably the player starts with a low amount of cash and has to build his/her resources up in order to provide more to his/her prisoners.
Overall, I would highly recommend this game to fans of construction and/or resource management games. Considering that I'm not big fan of the genre,* my enjoyment and recommendation of the game must mean something.
*Technically I am a fan of the genre, but I am no longer a fan of the time investment. I've spent my share putting excessive time into games: MUDs in middle/high school (various) and college (Cleft of Dimensions), The Sims (2000), Terraria (PC) (2011), Dungeon Defenders (PC) (2011), and Clicker Heroes (PC) (2014).
Prison Architect (PC) (2015)
Relevant Links:
Prison Architect Website
Prison Architect (Wikipedia.org)
Prison Architect (Steam Store Page)
20190721:
I recently decided on making sure I broke even on my Humble Bundle purchases. As such, I needed to play a second game* from my most recent purchase: Humble Very Positive Bundle 3.
 |
| The tutorial/campaign levels tell a story. |
Although I was originally skeptic about enjoying the game, I was captured by the story and stayed for the gameplay. In fact, there was a point where the game gave me the option to proceed with the story (I had finished all the mandatory objectives in the second campaign level) but instead I got hooked on completing the optional objectives and improving the prison. This was especially easy to do because there is a lot of cash available to the player (which would not be the case in sandbox mode).
Gameplay:
Completed all the objectives in Death Row.
Completed all the objectives in Palermo.
Continued playing and trying to accomplish various grants. Many grants were already satisfied.
Steam Game Time: 6.2 hours
*I previously played Bendy and the Ink Machine (PC) (2017).
 |
| The prisoners have needs. Their greatest need at the moment is clean clothing. |
Thoughts:
Pros:
+ A lot of options
+ There's a story line; from what I can tell it doubles as a tutorial
+ Reasonably easy to learn; the game introduces mechanics at a good pace
+ Steam Workshop offers a lot of content
Cons:
- Some difficulty with the UI; in particular, removing objects needs to be easier
- Some of the quick-build options are useful, but considering the clone tool is limited, I wish the quick-build option were better.
 |
| I make a laundry room. The guards begin to distribute the clean uniforms. |
Unknown:
? I read the game has an Escape Mode where the player becomes a prisoner and tries to escape a prison.
? I have not yet played the main game: Sandbox Mode.
Summary:
I know I could spend a lot of time with this game. I know I could easily reach a hundred hours on it. However, I must resist this temptation - at least for now.
While I have only played part of the Campaign Mode (i.e., tutorial), I easily put six hours into the game and I can just imagine how much fun the Sandbox Mode would be. From what I've been able to gather, the Sandbox Mode can also be a challenge because presumably the player starts with a low amount of cash and has to build his/her resources up in order to provide more to his/her prisoners.
 |
| Meal time!!! |
Overall, I would highly recommend this game to fans of construction and/or resource management games. Considering that I'm not big fan of the genre,* my enjoyment and recommendation of the game must mean something.
*Technically I am a fan of the genre, but I am no longer a fan of the time investment. I've spent my share putting excessive time into games: MUDs in middle/high school (various) and college (Cleft of Dimensions), The Sims (2000), Terraria (PC) (2011), Dungeon Defenders (PC) (2011), and Clicker Heroes (PC) (2014).
Prison Architect (PC) (2015)
Relevant Links:
Prison Architect Website
Prison Architect (Wikipedia.org)
Prison Architect (Steam Store Page)
Date/Time
Sunday, July 21, 2019
@
23:00
Labels
2D
,
building
,
construction
,
management
,
multiplayer
,
simulation
,
single-player
,
strategy
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