I love the idea of what Prison Simulator is going for and I think that they pulled off what they were going for here. You get to play the role of a prison officer and it is up to you how you want things to play out. This is one of those games that ends up being way more addictive than you would think!
How to Download Prison Simulator
You can download the game from Steam. Click on the Download button at the end of the review. If you like the theme, check out also Prison Architect, The Escapists, and The Escapists 2.
The Game Review
There are two gameplay modes in Prison Simulator. The main game mode actually plays out a story, a story that is way better than I thought it would be. This prison is not what it at first seems and I got a kick out of that. There is also a kind of sandbox mode too where you just screw around and do what you want.
You get to make your own prisoners in this game which is fun. You can make 16 prisoners; you get to decide what they look like and what their name is. You can have fun making your friend or even celebrities. You can also make up your own gangs too, giving them a name and a gang emblem! If you do not want to do the customization, you can randomize it all instead.
The game is played from the first person and on each day, you have various tasks that you have to do. Doing a headcount, cleaning a part of the prison, moving prisoners, and doing contraband checks are all examples of the tasks you will have to perform on any given day. You have two respect meters, one for your fellow guards and one for the inmates.
If your guard respect gets too low, you can get fired. If the prisoner respect gets too low, they can riot, start fires and cause chaos! You may have to crack a few skulls to keep them in line. This brings me to a part of Prison Simulator which I think really makes this such an interesting game!
You can play this by the book and be an honest prison guard. You can treat them with respect, do your job, and be a good dude. On the flip side of this, you can be super corrupt! You can beat prisoners and guards as you will, take contraband for yourself and even trade with the prisoners.
You also get some downtime too. Here you can do stuff like workouts, playing basketball, darts and you can even just sit on a bench if you want to skip time forward. As you play, you will make money, the better guard or the more corrupt you become the more money you can earn. You can use this money to get upgrades for yourself as well as the prison.
I had a lot of fun with Prison Simulator. I think it is the kind of game that is very easy to get into and it can be quite addictive for a short while. I am not sure how long it will hold your attention though as after about a week, I think I am close to having my fill. Still, it has been a fun week and I do not regret my purchase one bit!
