Prison Architect Review (poofy_marshmallow_cloud)
1) buy game
2) go into game preference settings --> betas --> opt-in to Prison Architect 2018 anniversary edition (before Paradox bought the game from Introversion)
3) play for 1,856.8 hours
4) profit
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In all seriousness, part of why I still love to play this game so much is because of all the little details, even with the 2018 version. Many other reviews do a good job describing the quality of overall gameplay.
I am providing insight for those sandbox players who want to know more about just how finely detailed the gameplay can get!
Even after 1,800 hours, I sometimes discover interesting new things that are not always mentioned in the game description, campaign mode (tutorial), or online wikis. These include:
when carefully watching the prisoners for a while, one of them may briefly flash a contraband item they are trying to discreetly hold, and it can then be confiscated with a search
prisoners can rummage through trash bins for contraband (by briefly moving on top of it)
drunk prisoners bump into walls and struggle to walk in a straight line; high prisoners walk with erratic bursts of speed
guard dogs maul prisoners to death in revenge if said prisoner has killed the guard dog owner
given the opportunity, prisoners will always attempt to pick up dropped jail keys before the guards remove them
prisoners attempting to escape will skid across the pavement if tased or knocked unconscious while making a run for it
maximum security and legendary prisoners have the ability to occasionally break free of handcuffs while in lockdown/solitary
max-sec and legendary prisoners are also much more likely to spontaneously attack a weak staff member (janitors, gardeners, chefs, teachers, and spiritual leaders) if the staff member has the misfortune of walking too close to them
actively rioting prisoners are essentially immortal (to starvation) unless tased, knocked unconscious, or killed; they are able to riot indefinitely if left alone and will not starve to death even with the "starving" status effect
released prisoners have all their status effects frozen and cannot starve to death, pee/poo themselves, go to classes, etc, even if trapped in your prison forever
prisoners are willing to travel quite far (sometimes across entire cell blocks) to attack a snitch or confidential informant
very rarely, a family visiting a prisoner in visitation will make the prisoner angry, and the prisoner will attempt to kill their family members
Idle prisoners and staff will sometimes close their eyes after a while as if dozing off, or sniffle and sneeze
in escape mode on the console version, there is a special friendly immortal guard called Karl the Cop who helps open doors for you
10/10 would recommend if obsessed with small details and watching prisoners smack each other with garden shears.