Prison Architecthas just released its latest DLC,Free for Life, and it’s free to claim for owners of the game. The new DLC coincides with the major Crowbar Hotelupdate forPrison Architectwhich focuses on adding quality-of-life improvements and refining much of the game’s existing systems.
Prison Architectis an indie games success story, beginning as a crowdfunded alpha back in 2012 before officially releasing from Steam’s Early Access program in 2015. The prison management and building game has enjoyed widespread positive reception due to the depth of its gameplay, the simplistic charm of its art style, and the replayability it offers thanks to a variety of prison wardens, policies, and design decisions that players can experiment with. In the years since it was released, the game has received numerous major updates that add new features and improve old ones, andPrison Architect’s acquisition by Paradox Interactivehas allowed the game to expand even further.
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TheFree for Life DLC is, as the name implies, a completely freeDLC forPrison Architect. The DLC introduces several new features related to prison policy, inmate progression, and guards. A new Prisoner Log and Improved Scheduler allow players to check inmate activities and keep track of who gets released, reforms, or reoffends, and the improved Scheduler adds new depth to the prison’s schedule. Inmates can now age from Young to Senior and Elderly, each with distinct needs and behaviors, while guards now progress through the ranks and become increasingly effective by gaining new perks as they move up. Improvements to the building system include fences and walls in the planning menu and a helpful cursor tooltip that shows the dimensions and planned cost for a selection.
The Crowbar Hotel update includes a variety of fixes and improvements across the board. Related toprison life inPrison Architect, Criminally insane prisoners can no longer be gang members, gang leaders can no longer leave the gang via tattoo removal, and Crooked Guards are properly investigated regardless of their current status. Other tweaks include fixing overlapping UI issues for several of the game’s menus, a change allowing staff to interact with the armory even if the room is missing requirements, and a fix for backup generators ensuring they function when slightly over maximum output.
Although the game is approaching its seventh full year after release, the fact that it’s still pushing major updates and free DLC is a great sign forPrison Architectfans as more can likely be expected in the future. For gamers who haven’t tried the game, it’s worth watching the Epic Games Store for the next timePrison Architectis given away for free.
Prison Architectis available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
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