One look at inZoi, and it would be hard not to be impressed by the game. ZOI is the Greek word for Life, and as such, in ZOI means in Life or, as the developers meant it to be, the joy of life. The ZOIs are what the avatars and NPCs of the game are called and are machine-created as they are. They try to represent what real human life would look like in a probable utopian society.

The people of inZOI are not without their problems, as they exist in a digital world created to be as Earth-like and realistic as possible.

What’s inZOI about?

The game is (no doubt) impressive, as it was developed using Unreal Engine 5, which is evident from its excellent, realistic-looking graphics, optimal use of AI in the game mechanics and user interface, and well-written scripts for the NPCs and user avatars. Moreover, it also utilizes impressive environmental ambiance and sounds, narrations, environmental object interactions (like being able to use vehicles), overall game performance, and a lot more.

However the game is new, and with all high-end AAA games, user input will determine the number of changes and updates that will be expected in the times to come.

Similarly to the life simulators that came before (primarily The Sims), the game's objective is to live one's life in the game. That means interacting with your surroundings, the NPCs around you, building, working, and other activities that will give you a feeling of living a usually better alternate life as compared to our current physical survivor-based reality. One very good reason to attract a huge audience as long as human escapist tendencies are kept at the moderate and practical level. The game, however already does a very good job at this.

In inZOI, what happens depends on how the player lives his alternate life. As it is a very ideal world, it isn't difficult to find a cute and pretty girl or handsome boyfriend for the purpose of love and marriage which even seems to be the primary goal of the game. Get hooked for life and have a family of your own.

The user interface is quite intuitive and provides a good enough number of options for the player to take. The graphics are very interactive as well, and you can see hearts popping up around the girl to show that she is really into you. Try trying that in real life, and best of luck, haha.

Building the world of inZOI

InZOI allows you to build your world as it is an open world/sandbox/RPG/and other kinds of game, much like the various games you see here in Virtualworldsland. Build your house and your lawn, do your interior design, and do many more with the game's map/build editor. You'll just have to give some time and dedication to learning the ropes like any other game editor.

The are a lot of available objects/prefabs like furniture, lamps, posts, structures, etc., and you can create in-app custom edits if needed. As a ZOI in the game, you can have a career as well. You can hold a job, go to work every day, interact with customers, have an affair or two, well, it's really up to you. But then, the game mimics real life so just be ready for any consequences, whether good or bad.

The game has a special feature that many users may like, especially those with dramatic or cinematic tendencies. If seeing your ZOI running towards his (your) lady love in the game, meeting in the middle of a crowded street with a gargantuan smooch for the whole world to see, is your dream, you're in luck. The game has a scenes editor or inZOI Studio where you can create, run, and record the scene (cut-scene) for use in the game. Again, if you're the kind of gamer with nihilistic-manslaughtering tendencies, you can always make a Friday The 13Th or Nightmare on Elm Street-like scene on the set.

inZOI vs. The Sims

We now move on to the elephant in the room. The Sims is a real-life simulator that has entrenched itself in the gaming world for decades. As early as 2000, The Sims maintained its presence as an enjoyable and immersive game simulator for gamers who wanted to have a second or alternate digital life. This has included people of all ages, from casual to core gamers, all over the world, and this has been going on for years. It even has its own free mobile version aptly called The Sims Freeplay.

With the coming official release of inZOI, the game will undoubtedly have a huge margin of advantage and performance over the latest Sims games (both four and five). For one, the Unreal Engine graphics alone speaks volumes as the game is really beautiful, and the characters, environment, and even the night sky are fantastic to behold. The NPCs are well made not only in looks but in personality and interactive performance as well.

The gameplay is not bad, and since it has a much more realistic and open-world environment, it gives more flexibility to things that can and will happen in the game. The game can save at points, so if your avatar gets killed in an accident or simply bites the dust, you can go back to a save point (just like an RPG) and continue the game from there. The potential for the game is immense, and content creators and let's play activists will no doubt jump on the inZOI bandwagon very soon.

In closing, inZOI is a refreshing take on the Life-Sim genre, but only time will tell if it will prove to be really better than The Sims. Now, definitely yes, but if Maxis and EA decide to play catch up by coming up with a really competitive Sims game (with chatter such as Project Rene), the playing field may once again find itself leveled, which will prompt inZOI at that time to amp the competition. In the ultra-competitive world of video games, only time will tell.