Hungry as life sim players are for a game to take on The Sims, it’s been a bit difficult to keep track of the details on each of the in-development competitors. Inzoi, hands down the prettiest of the bunch, showed off a new gameplay trailer at Gamescom Opening Night Live but it didn’t feel like there was a lot to learn from that quick look. The more useful info is actually coming from content creators who Krafton partnered with this week to post sponsored videos sharing their play time with a build of the game.
The short version is that it does seem to look as pretty in action as the screenshots and videos I’ve seen so far, and folks are having a lot of fun discovering what types of interactions, relationships, and activities it includes—everything from car accidents to drive-by farts. So instead of breaking down the new gameplay trailer, let’s go over nine things we know about Inzoi right now (old and new) based on what players are sharing.
There’s an open world and direct Zoi control mode
Although we knew it would be open world, the newest gameplay videos show how your Zoi can walk anywhere on the map or drive there (more on that below) in real time. Both of those things can either be in a classic overhead life sim perspective where you’re pointing and clicking your Zois to their destination or in a direct control mode where you’re using WASD to get around. I didn’t expect that to make such an impact, but that closer perspective and more realistic visuals do make it seem more personal.
One thing I did spot is that you can’t just walk into absolutely any building out in the world. So it is definitely open world, from an exterior perspective, but interior spaces are slightly restricted.
You can drive cars (and crash them)
We already knew that Inzoi was going to have driveable cars, but a video by Emma Nicole shows what that will actually look like. You can drive from an overhead third-person or first-person view in the driver’s seat. You may get stuck in traffic though, as Emma does. In that situation you can turn on “auto-drive” to sit back and let the car drive for you. Even that takes time though, so you can skip ahead to your destination which took about 40 minutes of in-game time in Emma’s case but means you don’t waste real world time living the most boring parts of a fake life.
One bit you can spot in the newest trailer is two Zois yelling at each other over a fender bender. You can see how that comes to pass in RachelPedd’s video. Although Inzoi’s developers said that driving cars isn’t like GTA, you can definitely hit other cars and then get a pop-up acknowledging your error as another Zoi chews you out. There are also rather detailed car interactions like rolling down individual windows or using turn signals.
You can spread rumors and colds and also trends
Inzoi is going to represent a few different kinds of virality between Zois, from gossip to fashion styles to actual colds. Though we don’t get to see it in action, Emma Nicole describes a “rumors” system and contracting colds that the Inzoi developers told players about in which bits of information (or sickness) are passed between Zois.
Another player, MadMorph, also describes how a Zoi can use the in-game social media called “Bubbly” to show off a particular hat and then seeing other Zois around the city start wearing the same hat or even pull out that hat and wear it when passing by that original influencer Zoi on the street.
Zois have a “recognition” need
As with the concept of trends, it seems like social media and perception are a pretty key part of Inzoi. Your Zois have eight total need meters, seven of which are really standard: hunger, hygiene, bathroom, fun, social, energy, and sleep—though it is interesting that “sleep” and “energy” are separate concepts. There’s also a “recognition” need that’s separate from the “social” need. So being noticed isn’t just important in certain jobs, it’s a basic human need. That may be part of your incentive to engage in the “karma actions” described down below.
You’ve got to actually go to work
The Sims refers to jobs as “active careers” if your Sim actually goes to a location and has to complete goals during the workday, but most careers aren’t active ones. It seems that all of Inzoi’s jobs are “active” in that way, sending your Zoi to work in a uniform and giving them a to-do list of actions like cleaning the shop as a cashier or practicing singing as an idol and a time limit to complete them in. So far players have taken on jobs like a pop idol trainee, cashier, firefighter, and amusement park worker.
There are three styles of interactions
In lots of different videos you can spot that interactions between Zois are displayed as a sort of jumbled word cloud of options. Some are extremely specific like “Discuss the development of artificial intelligence” or “talk about the joys of a walk in the park.” Others are mood-specific like flirtatious choices when feeling “dazzled” or interactions specific to a relationship.
Interactions are also broken down into family relationship, business, and friendship. It’s interesting, but I wonder if the effect will be that I take whatever interactions are easiest to find instead of going digging for the one I want.
From past videos I’d spotted a custom pattern creator in the character creator. There’s also a generative AI tool that will let you create patterns from a prompt. MadMorph really put that part through its paces by requesting some custom paintings for a Zoi’s house like a “line drawing of a bear face” and “Sonic,” with some admittedly mixed results. Not to mention using generative AI in a game genre that draws such a passionate community of creators and artists doesn’t feel great. Uploading premade images will be the more reliable way to make things that actually look good, but folks sure do enjoy messing with AI tools.
Furniture can be custom built or imported from a real life photo
What’s really jazzing me as a build mode player is the ability to create custom furniture by mixing and matching elements like the legs of an office chair with the back of a wicker chair. I wouldn’t recommend that specific combo but it’s cool that it’s possible. My favorite decorating feature also makes an appearance: the ability to choose materials, patterns, and specific colors for individual parts of each object.
Also demoed by Emma Nicole is the ability to create a 3D object by using a photo with the “3D Printer.” It takes several minutes to process, apparently, but seems pretty neat. As Emma Nicole points out, results sort of vary and it can make things with slightly weird geometry. Honestly, I’m more likely to play with that than the AI patterns though.
There’s a karma system, which includes, uh, farting
This is another gem courtesy of MadMorph. The main bit is that Inzoi has a karma system and you can see your Zoi’s alignment in their profile. There are also “karma actions” which include things like throwing away trash, sending a prank text, posting a compliment on social media, and “fart secretly,” which, yup, other characters will react to.
