Choose Prison Architect
Choose Prison Architect if you want an Indie experience. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 88.8% positive across 33,775 reviews.
Prison Architect vs Project Highrise
Prison Architect and Project Highrise both land in Strategy, Simulation on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Strategy, Simulation on Steam. Prison Architect (2015) is 1 year older than Project Highrise (2016). Prison Architect scores higher on Steam reviews (88.8% positive) than Project Highrise (85.2% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Project Highrise
Choose Project Highrise if it matches what drew you to this matchup. 2,227 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Prison Architect and Project Highrise sit in Strategy and Simulation on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Prison Architect |  Project Highrise | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2015 | 2016 |
| Genres | Strategy, Indie, Simulation | Strategy, Simulation |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Deck Playable |
| Price | 7.49 USD | 19.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 88.8% positive (33,775 reviews) | 85.2% positive (2,227 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Introversion Software, Double Eleven | SomaSim |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Simulation on Steam.
- Prison Architect (2015) is 1 year older than Project Highrise (2016).
- Prison Architect scores higher on Steam reviews (88.8% positive) than Project Highrise (85.2% positive).
- Prison Architect is currently ~63% cheaper on Steam than Project Highrise (7.49 USD vs. 19.99 USD).
- Both are Deck Playable.
Prison Architect vs Project Highrise — FAQ
- Which is better, Prison Architect or Project Highrise?
- On Steam reviews Prison Architect scores higher (88.8% positive) than Project Highrise (85.2% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Prison Architect is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Prison Architect or Project Highrise first?
- If you want chronology, Prison Architect (2015) came out before Project Highrise (2016). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Prison Architect and Project Highrise similar?
- They overlap on Strategy, Simulation on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.