This Little-Known Photorealistic Korean Life Sim Has A Lot Of Potential

Highlights

Zois in inZOI have photorealistic features thanks to complex motion mechanics.
inZOI will feature creator workshops and modding features to enhance the player experience.
With unique mechanics like karma and dream systems, inZOI seeks to stand out in the life sim genre.

I’ve held an interest in the life simulation genre for some time, despite my only comprehensive experience with the genre coming in the form of The Sims 3. I’m intrigued by Paradox Tectonic’s Life By You, which releases in early access on June 4. However, another under-the-radar life simulation game has recently caught my attention – inZOI.

inZOI is being developed in-house by Krafton, a Korean gaming conglomerate best known for the battle royale game PUBG. The team behind inZOI recently released a development video that went over their progress on requested features, and some of the stuff that’s already been implemented in the game.

The video was presented in a typical Korean variety style, with three animated developers excitedly breaking down the new content added to inZOI. The style of the video was reminiscent of Korean television; the whole thing felt quite endearing.

Sims? I Only Know Zois

inZOI is built in Unreal Engine 5, with the most impressive feature of the game undoubtedly being its photorealistic character creator; the ‘Zois’ look fantastic. According to game director Hyungjin Kim, “…the game is built on a very complicated structure with hundreds of motion points for facial and body movements, with the tiniest of motion expressed for every muscle.”

Kim adds that even creating outfits for Zois is going to require “a great level of technical understanding,” but Krafton is going to invest time into making the process more accessible for the various creator workshop and modding features inZOI is planned to have.

Also showcased in the video were driving mechanics — you don’t actually get to drive the cars GTA-style but you can map out routes, pick people up and get in car accidents (you’ll be able to reload a save if your Zoi dies).

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There is a karma system where your choices can affect your offspring, there’s nighttime mechanics like dreaming that influence the luck of your Zoi the next day and so on. The log details smaller features that add flavour to the life simulation game.

There is no release window for inZOI as it stands, but the transparency of the development process and some of the features already announced has me excited to learn more.