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Pitting The Sims 4 against inZOI is a bit of an unfair fight. As an Early Access game, it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that Krafton's life sim isn't quite on par with EA's just yet. Having played about three hours of inZOI, though, there's a lot about the new game that shows immense potential. It's already far more customizable than The Sims 4's base game was at launch, and the realistic graphics do lend it a very different aesthetic compared to the cartoonish quirk that makes Sims 4 so identifiable. Like many other things, that sense of identity is one area that inZOI is still carving out – but that's not to say it's all bad.
When comparing Sims 4 vs inZOI, there are some interesting differences I've noticed between them. If you're on the fence about whether inZOI is right for you, I'm going to try and break down how each game implements five aspects of life sim gameplay that separate the goods from the greats so you can make the decision for yourself.
Character creator
Perhaps the strongest aspect of inZOI right now is its impressive set of character customization tools. While the minimalist UI lacks much character itself – the text is far too small and there's far too much of it at the moment – it's got the true makings of something special. The hairstyles are almost all fantastic, and it's near impossible to make a Zoi ugly thanks to the plethora of physical attributes on offer. The clothing styles, compared to The Sims', are far more in line with modern fashion trends you might find on any Gen Z teenager or the sartorially savvy streets of Seoul, with the fabric and color of each item completely customizable.
The elevated sense of fashion means that "randomized Sim energy" is totally absent from inZOI, and therein lies my only gripe: the outfits and styles are almost too realistic in how well everything goes together. What do you mean there are no eggplant costumes? Sure, I don't expect inZOI to have the same sense of humor as The Sims, but the clean, hyperrealistic aesthetic lacks any distinctive charm and risks taking itself too seriously. Plus, as mentioned in our inZOI review, the game struggles to hit the mark when it comes to making a Zoi that's neither pretty nor thin – which is something the developer will be looking into.
Build mode
Sandbox creativity is the bread and butter of the best simulator games, meaning it's a key thing to consider when comparing Sims 4 and inZOI. While the former's Build Mode is more intuitive to me as a lifelong Simmer, I have to hand it to Krafton: inZOI's ain't half bad. Choosing an empty lot to build on can be done from a city's menu, and if you decide you actually can't be bothered to build your own home after loading into the lot, there are pre-made houses to place instead.
I ended up doing precisely that, reaping the benefits of a sophisticated pad in the process. Again, think solid earthy tones and a tidy, eerily minimalist aesthetic. It's not that I don't like inZOI's building tools – on the contrary, building seems just as effortless in both games, thanks to the Shift key's multi-placement magic – but I'm more of a storyteller than a builder in games like The Sims. The tools on offer in inZOI are dense enough for even the most ambitious of builds, though it doesn't seem possible to totally re-make your city from scratch by bulldozing lots completely as you can in The Sims 4. Not yet, anyway.
Open world
One thing we all miss from The Sims 3 is something inZOI gets absolutely spot on. No matter which of the three available cities you choose to start off in, your Zois can go for a loading screen-free stroll around the whole place. The slow walking speed and lack of teleportation is a bit of an impetus killer, though exploring the Korean-inspired city of Dowon on foot is really the only way to do it. Here is where you get to see small inflections of personality emerge. A Zoi might stumble while walking before bending down to tug at their shoes in annoyance, while others can be seen calling friends on the phone and gesticulating with their hands wildly. Your Zoi will also obey traffic laws – no jaywalking allowed here, sorry, not that I tried to test the theory by running into a moving vehicle…
It's a curious thing that in a world so geared toward hyperrealism, inZOI ends up leaving no room for realistic imperfection. This reveals another key Sims 4 vs inZOI difference: that the world of the Zoi is far more orderly than a Sim's. With stricter rules applied to environment and brittle character autonomy, a day in the life of inZOI features none of the chaos you'd expect from your average wayward Strangervillager. Instead, Krafton's life sim targets a far more cozy-kawaii vibe. Expect fluffy cat-themed everything, right down to the Zoi currency of the Meow. Again, this speaks to just one of the many differences between the two games. If The Sims 4 is about being as over-the-top as possible, inZOI wants to do the opposite in its sanitized vision of a digital utopia that positions everything as cute, pretty, and Instagrammably perfect. Pick your poison.
Storytelling systems
Oh, inZOI, I know you're doing your best as an Early Access game, but I've already run into multiple bizarre issues with the narrative systems at play. It makes sense that they won't always overlap perfectly, and heaven knows The Sims 4 is no stranger to bugs itself, but why have my unemployed Zoi roommates just celebrated becoming colleagues?
It also seems way harder to forge anything but a friendly relationship with others in inZOI. One of my Zois has the Charmer trait, which I thought would help her succeed in her romantic endeavors, but she is unable to get more than a handshake out of her supposed best friend. I even sent her out on the street to yell at a man for no reason, and all he did was apologize to me. No matter, I thought, before heading on a long trek to the coin karaoke place a few blocks away – but as soon as I tried to greet the desk clerk rudely, he walked me into a cubicle for a sit down heart-to-heart. It seemed far more intimate than any interaction so far, made all the more quizzical for the cutesy thumb-and-forefinger heart symbols both Zoi kept throwing up for one another.
This default politeness might be down to cultural differences, with inZOI being designed by a Korean developer versus the largely Western-centric nature of The Sims 4's ethos. Compared against each other, though, inZOI is not exactly the narrative sandbox I was hoping for. It has the bits and pieces it needs to at least let us tell some semblance of a story, but until its systems can facilitate some more dramatic narrative potential, inZOI plays like more of an interactive Stepford town than a thriving digital playground. Thankfully, there's still time to fix this in Early Access. Life isn't all about niceties and perfectionism, and a good life sim uses that to its advantage.
Replayability
Without contest, The Sims 4 is still more replayable than inZOI when compared head-to-head. EA's life sim has years on Krafton's, with too many expansions under its belt to make any comparison a fair one when it comes to sheer volume of content in one over the other.
I can't see myself investing too heavily in inZOI at the moment, as even though it does have strong bones and a beautiful aesthetic, the overall life sim experience is altogether still hollow and rather broken. There's plenty of time for the developer to start playing catchup in Early Access to at least smooth out the storytelling systems, and if all goes well, who knows? Maybe inZOI really will give the king of the genre a run for its life sim money. Just please don't let the currency be called "meow" again, guys; there's only so much cat-themed kitsch I can handle.
