InZOI Lets You Do Everything, But What's The Point?

By 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Rhiannon Bevan

Published Aug 28, 2024

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Summary

InZOI's character creator is amazing, setting it up as a rival to The Sims 4.
However, the gameplay itself is frustrating, as the other Zois are so independent it's hard to find someone to interact with.
The city management mechanics show promise though, so it might be InZOI's differences to The Sims that help it stand on its own two feet.

The fact that InZOI has 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:gone viral for its character creator is very fitting. This upcoming life simulation game - which many are hoping will rival 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Sims 4 - is undeniably gorgeous. It’s also one of the best character creators I have ever experienced, with near endless cust🍌omisation for everything from your Zoi’s body to the clothes they wear.

However, since I only had a limited time with InZOI at Gamescom this year, I was eager to see what else the sim had to offer outside of this character creator. And while much of it is new and exciting, I fou𝔍nd it lacked the purpose and direction of The Sims. It j𒐪ust didn’t click.

The last game that was poised to rival The Sims 4, Life by You, was 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:cancelled back in June.

In the demo, my Zoi was dropped into a cityཧ with a gorgeous house that was already fully furnished. From here, I could do anything. Like The Sim🐟s, I could get a job, make some friends, and keep my character’s stats in the green. But it’s all far more detailed than it needs to be, as if it’s trying to respond to every request The Sims players have ever had. Instead of just choosing between a few channels to put on the TV, I can go by genre, and then choose between that genre. What fictional streamer do I want to watch? How do I want to make my eggs in the morning when I‘ve got a movie on? What exact line of dialogue do I want to say to a guy I come across in the street? There’s a ridiculous amount of detail here.

inZOI Character Creator designing a woman

I Have Mixed Feelings About inZOI's Use Of Generative AI

Generating furniture and clꦬothing textures is just the 🌄start.

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This is felt most strongly with the NPCs, who are more autonomous than ever. However, I fear this desire to give them more agency makes InZOI a frustrating experience more often than not. When I explored the city, going to both a fareground and a public park, hardly any characters would speak to me - if they’re already on a set task, they 🍌won’t stop for you. This probably made up the bulk of my playtime, being told a Zoi was too busy to talk to me, even when they didn’t look busy at all.

Really, I was only out there in the first place because I didn’t know what else I should be doing. Sure enough, simulation games are what you make of them, but I wasn’t quite sure what to make of all the new features𓂃 being thrown my way. The lovely house, my new job, my neighbours (whenever they actually wanted to talk to me), and even a fancy car - there’s so much here, I’m just waiting to see what the point of it all is. Hell, the game even let me driveꦆ the car in real-time, but that also felt pointless.

What InZOI Does Differently To The Sims

Yet there were a few sparks of hope. As I was driving my car recklessly through the streets, I crashed into someone and they got out to yell at me. I was told by a Krafton rep that thisꦅ would lower my Zoi’s karma rating. I🌜f their karma is too low by the time they die, they don’t pass on to the afterlife and remain in the city as a ghost, which eats into a character slot since you are limited on how many people can live in an area at any one time, even if they’re undead.

With this in mind, I’m eager to see more of the city management side of InZOI, despite the fact that making individual characters is presented as the big pull here. Much like with other areas of thꦆe game, the city is customisable too, with a range of cosmetics to choose from.

I filled my city with crocodiles. Alas, I was quickly told that they were justꩲ cosmetic, ꧅and would not actually attack any of the Zois.

There’s a very good chance this was just a poorly presented demo. The Sims is not made to be played in small bursts, after all - creating your first family can easily set you back over an hour, and that’s not even getting into designing your own house, getting everyone set up with a job, etc. However𝄹, since I didn’t have the time for this, I could only mess around with InZOI’s new features, and on their own, they were not enough to stand toe-to-toe with The Sims.

Perhaps once they’re part of a finished product that I can sink hours into in a single sitting, I’lဣl come around a bit more. But as it stands, I can’t help but fear that InZOI lacks direction. I’d happily be proven wrong, especially as the city management mechanics show some promise. But please, don’t leave me roaming around trying to find someone to talk to again. I don’t want to send my Zoi back to watch TV all day, no matter how many channels I can choose from.