There’s a to-do list you can check back on to see what you’ve been tasked with, and pressing the square button over certain developments let you know what items are missing, but sometimes there’s plenty of information thrown your way. There is a hell of a lot to learn here and you really need to pay attention. These stories do a great job of educating you, not only showing you what everything does and how everything works, but adding another way for you to play the game. Through beautifully drawn snapshots and simplistic cut scenes, you begin to understand why he did what he did, what the consequences are and a chance to witness everyone’s point of view.

In the first story, you learn the basics of powering your prison through an inmate on death row, about to be executed for murdering his wife and her lover. In Prison Stories, you get to learn everything you need to know about the game through 5 isolated stories (with little story threads throughout) about criminals and employees of the different prisons you take the helm of. The thing that surprised me the most about Prison Architect is the personal side it shows off. Everything you could possibly witness is a part of Prison Architect and it’s brilliant, featuring a lovely art style and some great sound design. You can take the reins of a massive high security compound or a smaller laidback jail, dealing with corruption and suicide, executions and riots. I’m not familiar with what life behind bars is like, or running a prison on a shoestring budget, but playing Prison Architect definitely gives you an idea of the struggles, obstacles and dilemmas you’d likely come up against.

Prison architect prisons download free