Irina "Zemlia" Sukhanova KRAFTON, a company that rose to fame with the success of PUBG, is now also involved in other games. Recently, they announced inZOI — their version of The Sims, which has been in development for about a year. The game is built on the Unreal Engine 5.
Creating a Zoi
The name inZOI represents the virtual people in the game. Now, they are not Sims, but Zois, who have their traits that define the character's personality and their reaction to various events. In addition, there is a list of themes that Zois like or dislike, as well as life ambitions (you can choose character traits yourself or trust the great random).
Image: youtube.com/@acottonsock
So, let's move on to character creation. What does the game offer in terms of editing? It offers quite a lot. At first glance, it might seem like another Korean MMORPG, similar to BDO. Here, you can meticulously adjust the face, clothes, hairstyle, and so on. You can create a character more realistic, not cartoonish like, for instance, in The Sims 4. Some might find such realism appealing, while others might be put off. Just one year of development, and such an impressive result.
Image: youtube.com/@acottonsock
The texture of the clothes also impresses, as every fold and the fabric itself are worked out in great detail. Moreover, it’s worth noting that the clothes are stylishly made, reflecting Korean fashion. Interestingly, you can change the colors of the clothes and hairstyles using a color wheel. There's a possibility to customize your own clothes for Zoi: you can adjust not only the color but also the length, such as the sleeve length, and use different styles.
Image: youtube.com/@acottonsock
Cities
Image: youtube.com/@acottonsock
The game plans to feature different cities around the world, but apparently, only fictional ones. For example, Dowon is a local version of Seoul, and Blissbay is Los Angeles. Currently, only one living place is available, and that is Dowon. Pay attention to the original way the cities are chosen. You are offered to poke the planet and settle wherever you want.
Construction
Now let's move on to construction. The furniture here is assembled piece by piece, which is quite impressive.
Image: youtube.com/@acottonsock
The game also features a "Texture AI" function. That means you just need to enter a keyword to generate wallpapers or flooring with the desired pattern. This may require an internet connection. However, the developers still need to work on this, as some textures are reproduced literally, which looks comical. Video textures can be applied to the walls.
Image: youtube.com/@acottonsock
If you move into a rental apartment, renovations are limited to your apartment only. Public lots cannot be edited yet, but you can slightly modify the city itself. You might like one feature. In inZOI, you can set the number of cats that will live in the city. The same can be done with people.
Image: youtube.com/@acottonsock
Currently, there are 4 types of weather: sunny, cloudy, rainy, and snowy. However, in the test version, the weather did not change the gameplay.
Pets
Pets will already be present in the basic part of the game. It seems as though the developers are hinting from the start who needs to be created… A cat accompanies you everywhere: during character creation, after installing the game, as the icon is made with an image of a white kitten. This cat appears almost everywhere.
Image: youtube.com/@acottonsock
The cat's name is Psyche. The animal possesses technology to control all the people in the city. Psyche also happens to be the head of the company where the player's characters start working. It will also send you messages with hints on your phone. The Koreans clearly know something about a global cat conspiracy…
Gameplay
An important part of the gameplay is the phones. Your Zois receive messages from friends and notifications with invitations to various activities. You can set a daily schedule for each Zoi.
Image: youtube.com/@acottonsock
The game already includes cars, but you cannot drive them or any other vehicle yet. However, a car can fatally hit your character, so be careful with the roads!
Skill development, visiting public places, notifications about new families in the city, and more are already in the game.
Jobs are detailed: you see your character progressively completing tasks (for example, a firefighter attends meetings, changes clothes, and responds to fires). You can also interact with colleagues at work. You can work full-time or choose part-time employment.
Image: youtube.com/@acottonsock
Cut-scenes are provided for important moments in Zois' lives: for example, for weddings, romantic nights, and childbirth.
In the test version, there were romances. They are set up as a simple interest scale between two Zois. Currently, romancing another character is too easy, which diminishes the value of relationships in the eyes of the player. Everything starts from liking and ends in big love.
Image: youtube.com/@acottonsock
Excessive simplicity also applies to pregnancy, children, and deaths: a girl in a couple became pregnant after the first "woo-hoo", a small child does not require special attention, and the death of a close person does not affect the partner’s life. However, this could still change by the release.
Image: youtube.com/@acottonsock
Currently, there is no lifespan indicator, but the developers have set boundaries for each stage. You can see this in the screenshot below.
Image: youtube.com/@acottonsock
Zois can die in several ways: being hit by a car, starvation, insomnia, lack of recognition, diseases, environmental pollution. However, they will take a long time to die.
Currently, the game already looks amazing, and it really can compete with The Sims. The release of inZOI is scheduled for the second half of 2024.
Main image: youtube.com/@acottonsock
0 comments