inZOI First Preview: Beautiful and Full of Potential, but Still a Bit Hollow

ign.com:

In inZOI, Krafton’s ambitious all-in-one life simulator, you aren’t a God but rather an omnipotent office worker performing HR for miniature worlds under the tutelage of an adorable cat overlord. In addition to managing the needs and relationships of customisable avatars called Zois, you can build a metropolis with bespoke homes, businesses, and public parks. A slew of complications, like citywide mood sliders, weather conditions, and the potential for wild animals, juice up your all-seeing agenda, leading to a sumptuous simulation full of moreish chaos. It’s a gorgeous, formidable, system-filled world that, as of right now, still feels a little hollow.

Before jumping into the deep end on my first day on the job, inZOI ushered me in with a slick, hyper-realistic character studio that, if time permitted, could have easily swallowed my entire preview session. There was plenty of pushing and pulling as I warped my avatar’s facial symmetry with incredible freedom, like a kid making a beautiful monster out of Play-Doh. But any sincere attempts to create a stylish virtual self disappeared as I stumbled onto all of the Zoi Presets crafted by other creators – nightmare-fuel recreations of cultural icons like Shrek and Handsome Squidward. “We want to give (players) as much agency as possible,” explains Hyungjun Kim, director and producer of inZOI. “I grew up making custom content, and I made a lot of custom content when I was playing The Sims”, they continued. “I know what the players are feeling, and I've been in their shoes, so I wanted to give them as much agency as possible so they can make things as easy as possible.”

You’ll choose a character’s gender expression, age range (child, young adult, adult, middle-aged, and senior), and personality before getting stuck into inZOI’s holistic anatomical putty parlor. “At first, we were looking at the option of stylising like The Sims, but we thought that making it realistic would help players become more immersed,” says Kim. “I