inZOI

As it stands, big caveats aside, inZOI is an interesting experiment but not one that I would readily recommend, at least not at the launch of Early Access. What is here is, again, intriguing, yes, but far from feature-complete and optimized for performance. [Pre-Early Access Impressions]

The fantasy of living out an alternative life — or a parallel one, for that matter — in digital form has always driven games like The Sims and now, InZOI. I’ve only spent a few hours in a pre-early access version but I’m extremely impressed. InZOI Studios has iterated on a classic genre in a way that feels contemporary and potentially more immersive than the earlier games could ever have been. [Early Access Impressions]

InZOI had a strong start in its Early Access, but it will need to fight to stay relevant once the initial novelty wears off. For now, it feels like there's more style than substance. The game needs to develop a unique value proposition and move beyond comparisons to The Sims. While both share a similar philosophy, their approaches are fundamentally different. We don’t believe InZOI is “the Sims killer” — at least not yet — but we also don’t think it needs to be. The way the game was launched feels like a smart move, as maintaining a close relationship with the community will be key to its future. It’s on the right path, but there’s still a long road ahead. [Early Access Score = 60]

My first impressions of Inzoi are mainly positive, though, as this life simulation game shows a ton of potential with the ideas it’s playing around with. There are still many quality-of-life issues that leave me wondering how long Inzoi could keep the attention and goodwill of players like me who love the genre. It also begs the question of how worthwhile it is to play in early access and if it’s easier to wait until the full game is out. [Early Access Impressions]

InZoi, then, has been a bit of a disappointment so far. Its good bits – the slick presentation, the expansive customisation, and the simple pleasures of tootling around in such richly detailed worlds – are continually undermined by the void where a bit of virtual humanity should be. But even so, I can't deny there's something here; a solid systemic foundation that feels ready to be tuned and finessed into a far more interesting game – and that, of course, is precisely what early access is for. There are other questions still to be answered that could make the difference between a long-lasting legacy and a short shelf life – how Krafton plans to introduce monetisation after early access, for instance, or whether InZoi can generate enough enthusiasm to support the kind of dazzlingly rich modding scene that's helped sustain The Sims for so long. It's a start, though, and I'm curious to see where Krafton goes from here. [Early Access Impressions]