If we talk about life simulatorsthere are few games that can rival The Sims 4. With a farming twist, Stardew Valley has made a name for itself, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons was a huge hit in the year of the pandemic. But they are not comparable simulators on a thematic level. Until InZOI, the most realistic rival to The Sims.
There were other contenders on the table, but the cancellation of the promising Life by You, which was in development by Paradox, has been a major relief for EA and Maxis, but they will still have to compete with the promising project from the owners of the battle royale PUBG.
Because if things don’t change, InZOI aims to become the ultimate life simulator. Because what they are cooking in KRAFTON, It is already generating very high expectations, after showing a few trailers and launching a demo of its character creator, from which wonderful recreations of famous people are already being seen.
InZOI aims to be a more realistic simulator than any otherusing the tools of Unreal Engine 5. The idea is to recreate people, cities and activities with the greatest possible photorealism. And from the first images and the editor, it seems that they are on the right track.
Krafton has not revealed its release date, but the roadmap indicates that InZOI could see the light of day by the end of 2024.
Are you interested in what you read? Then don’t miss it Everything we know about InZOI, the great rival of The Simswhich aims to redefine the simulation genre like no other game has done before.
All about InZOI, the ultimate life simulator:
Dethroning a king: InZOI wants to compete with The Sims
InZOI is a life simulator that aspires to do everything. It will not be easy to compete with the EA franchise, which already has a large community of fans in all corners of the world, after more than two decades of history behind it.
The great asset that Krafton has is Unreal Engine 5 technology. InZOI looks much more realistic in terms of faces, animations and options than The Simswhose strong point is certainly not the technical section. We will also have cinematics in the purest Sims 2 style.
In addition, InZOI seeks to better and more complete management of the environment where our virtual avatars live. So much so that it even includes several construction options, control over the weather and a more functional monetary system.
Another of the key tools is AI (artificial intelligence), which is revealed as one of InZOI’s best assets in its character editorThe idea is that players can recreate themselves more effectively and accurately.
Multiplayer elements also appear here, much more accessible on the PC scene (via Steam), although it remains to be seen whether the game will come to consoles in the future.
It has not been specified whether InZOI will be a premium (paid) game or if it will opt for the free to play model. that we currently have in The Sims 4. Remember that the Maxis game relies on paid expansions and DLC, but the base game is free on PlayStation, Xbox and PC.
Krafton has also confirmed that InZOI will be released with built-in mod supportwhich means that players will be able to share their creations (and download those of other users) with ease. The community will have access to a lot of user-generated content from day one.
This is going to be possible thanks to Overwolfa software platform that helps developers create mods for their games. Krafton has already signed a deal with them.
In theory, these are the main assets that the creators of InZOI have in mind. They are certainly promising, but it remains to be seen how everything works in practice.
Life in InZOI: All about its gameplay
In terms of gameplay, InZOI has a very similar approach to what we can see in games like The Sims or Paralives (a very good-looking indie life simulator). The player starts the game by creating his avatar in a deep character editor (called Zois).
Afterwards, you will have to choose a city to live in. At the moment, we only know Downonan urban region Inspired by the great South Korean cities.
At Krafton they assure that The game will include more cities, also inspired by Western regions. (like a fictional version of Los Angeles), so that all users feel represented and familiar from the start.
And then? This is when your parallel life in InZOI begins, as you will have to find a job, create a routine of activities, interact with other Zois and, why not, embark on romantic relationships, start a family…
What we have seen in the trailers is more than promising: yoga sessions, the possibility of going to the gym, reading in the library, going to the cinema, or even working as a firefighter. It seems that There will be a wide range of secondary activities to enrich the experience.
And of course, we can’t forget about pets. In InZoi we will have a cute kitten as a predefined pet, although dogs of different breeds can also be adopted. and more pets. And we won’t have to wait for expansions like The Sims, it’s something that will be released at launch.
Another interesting factor, which we will look at in more depth closer to launch, is city management. Without reaching the levels of a construction game like Cities: Skylines 2, InZOI will include different monitoring tools for each neighborhood, district or even the weather from the area.
It’s just the tip of the iceberg, and as a long-term game, the first version will probably be emptier than we’d like. However, Krafton’s title has the potential to become the king of the genre and grow in all dimensions over time.
Character Editor and Estimated Release Date
InZoi does not have a release date (as of the time of publishing this report, August 2024). However, at Gamescom 2024 it will be confirmed an exit window for ”late 2024”which presumably points to the autumn.
At the risk of delays, it looks like we’ll be able to enjoy the first version of InZoi very soon. In fact, influencers and streamers have already been able to try it out.
A free demo called InZOI: Character Studio is available on Steam, which It will be active between August 21 and 26, 2024which focuses on the various character creation tools. There are over 250 customization aspects.
But it doesn’t stop there. This InZoi demo includes the following:
- You can customize over 250 options for your Zoi, including age, name, body type, and outfit.
- Make your Zoi more realistic and beautiful with a variety of accessories and nail art.
- Select from an almost infinite range of colors to match hair and outfits using the Color Picker.
- Use the AI texture feature to easily add unique patterns to outfits.
- Change your Zoi’s expressions using facial recognition on your smartphone (iPhone compatible).
- Edit the studio background to create the perfect setting and lighting for your Zoi, and capture various poses in Photo Mode.
- You can upload your creations with different poses and expressions to “Canvas”, inZOI’s UGC platform.
Its creators have also revealed InZOI minimum and recommended requirements on Steam. This way, you can get an idea of what your PC needs to run properly.
Below you can take a look at the official requirements of the game:
Minima
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system.
- Operating system: Windows 10/11.
- Processor: Intel i5 10400 / AMD Ryzen 3600.
- Memory: 12 GB RAM.
- Graphics: NVIDIA RTX 2060 (8G VRAM) / AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT.
- DirectX: Version 12.
- Network: Broadband Internet connection.
- Storage: 60 GB of available space.
Recommended
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system.
- Operating system: Windows 10/11.
- Processor: Intel i7 12700 / AMD Ryzen 5800.
- Memory: 16 GB RAM.
- Graphics: NVIDIA RTX 3070 (8G VRAM) / AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT.
- DirectX: Version 12.
- Network: Broadband Internet connection.
- Storage: 75 GB of available space.
Electronic Arts and Maxis’ plan to counter InZOI is called Project Rene, which is basically the fifth installment of The Sims. A rumor claims that the game could be cancelled, although We have already seen screenshots, images of the map and even videos.
We will see If Krafton takes the time to do so for everything to go right. The creator of The Callisto Protocol, Glen Schofield, claims that the South Korean company is guilty of ruining some aspects of the horror game, as they had to cut content.
InZOI has been one of the headliners at Gamescom Opening Night Live 2024, unveiling a new trailer and kicking off the publisher’s test. Will it manage to beat The Sims? Absolutely. What we’ve seen so far from InZOI looks brutal.
