(Image credit: Krafton)
Spending this weekend immersed in inZOI, I found myself entranced by its visually stunning and detailed world, yet ultimately left feeling it lacks any meaningful depth. Although there are some bright spots, the world of the Zoi feels oddly sterile and dystopian—a consumer-driven existence whose highest aspiration is simply to sweep up.
First, let’s focus on the positives. The character creation tool in inZOI has had fans eagerly awaiting its arrival, and for good reason. It offers ultimate flexibility: every item of clothing can be customized with personalized textures, patterns, and an unlimited color palette. Sculpting a Zoi feels akin to crafting a masterpiece. However, like many character creators, it still struggles with plus-size bodies and lacks resources for disability aids. Still, the development team is responsive to feedback and promises future inclusions.
After dedicating over an hour to creating my Zoi, I spent additional hours designing their home. Though alien at first, the controls quickly became intuitive. Features often hacked or modded in games like The Sims are seamlessly integrated here, from mesh creation to free-placement toggling. Some elements like snap-roofing remain awkward, but it’s clear this platform holds bones bordering on design perfection.
inZOI, set to release in Early Access on March 28, 2025, by Krafton, allows players to zoom out and manage entire cities. You can control residents’ ‘Karma,’ traffic levels, street cleanliness, and even the types of flowers that bloom. This paints a picture of a town planner in tandem with your role as a Zoi-guiding deity.
Offering unparalleled creative freedom, this game excels in that department, even during its Early Access phase. However, inZOI’s major issue is its dual challenges. First, despite its director’s claims, comparisons with The Sims are inevitable, setting high expectations. Secondly, trying to mirror The Sims, which has lost much of its original personality, inZOI misses the core elements that make life simulators enjoyable. Whereas The Sims was once a quirky satire, full of chaos and charm, it is now more of a design tool with expansions and bloat. Still fun, though, even in a diminished state—something inZOI struggles to replicate.
After the initial hours filled with design thrills, it was time to breathe life into my Zois—a married couple embarking on a new chapter. Optimistically, I directed my Zoi to greet her husband, only to face instant rejection. Even married Zois begin with a neutral relationship, unknown to one another. Attempts at speeding intimacy with my husband through a peculiar dialogue system ended comically with us becoming business partners instead. Abandoning him temporarily, I visited the park.
Travel, charming through the use of a subway system, lends the city a realistic feel. Yet, upon arrival, the lifelessness of inZOI reemerges. The rigid autonomy of Zois proves problematic; they lack the ability to hold meaningful conversations or engage in seemingly straightforward tasks such as painting or taking selfies successfully.
Mere minutes after returning home fulfilled, my Zoi collapsed and died, only four hours into her in-game life. The game offered no reasoning, just an option to rewind time, which I desperately took, only to face recurring demise. After carefully crafting a perfect environment for hours, it all unraveled within moments.
Creating new Zois, they managed to secure jobs—one as an assistant professor, another as a code developer. Unfortunately, workdays became tedious rabbit holes. Even on maximum speed, time barely crawled by, and upon returning home, activities such as engaging in hobbies or building relationships felt superficial. Zois navigate activities with minimal personality or enthusiasm, and multitasking issues frequently prompt bizarre situations, including wandering streets with plates of rotten food.
With inZOI launching in Steam Early Access, there is hope it could become a better offering over time, similar to Cities Skylines but with a personal avatar. However, for now, it feels like a hollow imitation, clinging to the less successful elements of The Sims, rather than capturing the fun. Amid its robust design capabilities, what Zois consider ‘living’ lacks vitality. Something magical is promised here; it merely remains unseen.
This review was conducted on PC, with a code provided by the publisher.