Your heart clobbers inside your ribcage as you spot a character wearing an orange prison jumpsuit sneaking into the jail block. Inside the cell in the far back of the dim corridor, the figure slams the head of his rusted hammer against the porcelain toilet, slowly separating it from the filthy tiled floor. You take a peek inside the cell, glancing at the character. He doesn’t notice as you aim your shotgun towards his head. Bam! you hear his limbs collapse and a resounding Oof! marks his death. You smile in pride and relief, victorious in preventing an unrefined prisoner from escaping. Prison Life is an interactive multiplayer prison roleplay survival game that leaves you feeling passionate about your gameplay every time you join a server. 

     Developed by Aesthetical on May 2nd, 2014 on ROBLOX, a multi-million online game creation system, it was one of the most popular games, with over 1.2 billion visits as of October 2019. In 2016, Prison Life was in its prime with 10,000 to 50,000 daily players, but now it has been replaced with renovated “copies” such as Jailbreak, Redwood Prison, and Mad City. It may not be as famous nowadays, but it still continuously hooks players on a daily basis. The game still has that spark of originality that draws them, new or old, in. 

     In the game, you possess the choice of three different roles, a prisoner, guard, or criminal. You must survive the daily life of the prison. As a Prisoner, your main goal is to escape and become a Criminal, another role in the game. You could either utilize brute force by killing guards or play passive by sneaking out through the sewers. However, playing as a Guard, you have the responsibility of preventing the prisoners from escaping. You are able to kill armed prisoners or criminals when necessary and arrest players in certain areas of the map. Guards are only allowed to kill prisoners wielding weapons or else they receive a warning; three warnings and the player is condemned to a prisoner and restricted from being a guard again. The final role is the Criminal, who can shoot guards and rescue prisoners or just simply purge both teams. If the player dies as a criminal, their role would not be affected as they would simply respawn as one unless they were previously arrested by a guard. No matter what role you play, you will be endlessly entertained by many other players’ extreme tactics.  

     All teams are allowed access to a specific set of weapons and tools to help them with their gameplay. The guards are able to equip a taser, handcuffs, and other weapons provided by the armory. On the other hand, prisoners have to either pick up an M9 from a freshly killed guard or bypass the door to the armory and steal guns. Prisoners are allowed to utilize an M9 and a Remington 870. When prisoners escape from the prison, they become a criminal and pick up their AK-47 and Remington 870. Both Prisoners and Criminals can pick up a Hammer, Crude Knife, and Key Card. In addition, players can buy the Riot Police Gamepass which provides them with a Riot Shield, Kevlar Armor, a SWAT helmet, a Ski Mask, and a Police Cap when they have the role of a guard. It also gives all roles with the game pass use of the best auto-fire gun in the game, the M4A1.

     Around the map, there are several locations that spice up the game. The prison, of course, is the setting most of the prisoner vs. guard PvP (player vs. player) action takes place, with an edge of criminal activity. Inside the prison is the Jail Block, where the cells are, in addition to the Cafeteria, where prisoners and guards can retrieve daily meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) from the “invisible lunch ladies” and snacks at the “broken vending machines.” The yard, inside the prison, is where prisoners can roam freely during “Yardtime” and “Freetime,” two designated times of the day. At the heart of the prison is the Armory/Guardroom, where guards spawn and equip their tools. Further toward the back is the Warehouse, where criminals spawn and are provided with weapons. There are also a few places in the setting of the game hidden in secret/undiscovered spots for the player to explore themselves.  

     The controls are quite simple and easy to comprehend. Players can move forward, to the right, to the left, or backward by either using the arrow keys or WASD. Optionally, they may press the Shift key to sprint, the F key to punch, and the C key to crawl. What’s unique about this game is that the player has three perspectives they can play from, First Person, Second Person/Shift Lock, and Third Person, which is highly recommended. Since the controls are very versatile, players can adjust their gaming perspectives into ones they are most comfortable with. 

     Although Prison Life is an enjoyable game, it also has its negatives. Its graphics aren’t that great since it’s always the same objects in the game that are continuously repetitive. The avatars are blocky and usually lack diversity due to prisoners and cops being stuck in their jumpsuits. In addition, the developer, Aesthetical, says on his description of the game, “I started my first year of university in 2017...didn't have much time to spend working on the game,” which is not the best state to leave the game in, without updates. At the same time, the sounds in the game such as the bullets of the guns and hilarious oofs when a player dies make the game 10 times better. There may be exploiters here and there that troll and ruin the player’s experience along with spouts of mature language, but the friends and memories made will forever be implanted in the player’s memory.

     “Prison Life” has some of the best experiences a gamer will ever have in a gunfighting roleplay game. Don’t let anything ruin your chance of enjoying one of the best ROBLOX games out there. Try out the game, who knows, it might become one of your favorites, too. Can’t wait to see you in-game!