Welcome to the ICXM prison for the clinically insane….enjoy your stay! Prison Architect’s newest DLC titled ‘Psych Ward’ brings a plethora of new content to the game expanding upon the already great base game.
I had a lot of fun tinkering and playing around with the new content and included in the DLC is the following new content:
● New inmates with unique traits!
● New wardens to alter your prison experience!
● New staff – hire psychiatrists to ease their minds and manage their behavior
● New pre-built prisons, including the world’s largest floating prison
● New building plots – build your new facility in an abandoned jungle camp or ancient ruins
● Equip your prison with new padded cells and a Criminally Insane wing
For full disclosure, I was a Prison Architect noob when I downloaded the game. I don’t typically play many simulation style games, so I was a little weary when I began playing. After playing through the tutorial levels, I can definitely say the game is easily accessible and can be enjoyed by anyone! After getting a firm grasp on the mechanics of the game, I dived in and began playing around with the Psych Ward content. The content itself is pretty basic, but it adds new twists to the game. For example, one warden makes escape attempts more frequent, so you have to run your prison in a way that mitigates the risk. The new rooms/staff add to the already impressive list of items and even more aspects of the prison to motor and run.
Even though I’m horrible at running a prison, I had a blast playing Prison Architect—Psych Ward, and for only $4 you get a lot of new stuff to play around with. I definitely recommend you pick it up if you loved the base game, or simply if you want a good reason to jump back in!
Jonathan was a regular ICXM contributor between 2015–2017, publishing 57 articles across opinion pieces, game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news. Their work focused on hands-on reviews, platform commentary, and breaking-news reporting during the Xbox One X launch year and Microsoft’s wider Play Anywhere / UWP gaming initiative. They post on X as @jtainsworth13.