InZOI versus The Sims: All major differences

It has taken years, but finally, Electronic Arts' classic franchise seems to have a serious contender for the throne of the best life sim: InZOI. The South Korean title seemingly aims at a slightly different target audience than Maxis' classic series. So let's check out all the major differences between the two games. What are the major differences between InZOI and The Sims? Better looking and more realistic graphics Image via Krafton Perhaps this is a bit of an obvious call out, considering The Sims 4 is ten years old now, but InZOI definitely has the upper hand in terms of graphical fidelity. Your dream of having a character that looks like you, your friends, or your celeb crush is now very much a reality. Your mileage may vary if you vibe with either the cartoonish Sims look or the human and realistic look of the Zois from InZOI. At times, it does look like InZOI is heading towards that uncanny valley look that might turn some people off and also might have some characters look like something between dolls and zombified AI-generated lucid nightmares. The game seems to head towards a more photo-op vibe, to take some beautiful-looking shots of your Zois doing beautiful things. The overall higher graphical quality also means better-looking objects and environments, so good news for all players. Except for those with a low-spec PC, of course. Fully functional vehicles Image via Krafton The original trailer for InZOI did not miss out on the possibility of making The Sims 4 look like an old game, by showing everyone that cars will indeed be a big part of the game. In Maxis' classic simulation, vehicles seemed to disappear completely even after The Sims 3 had them. They were never brought back officially. In the life sim game by Krafton, cars are a big part of your character's everyday life, so you will be driving around. But what good is a car if you don't have any place to drive them around? That's why one major feature of the game is... Open-world and customizable cities Image via Krafton One huge limitation in The Sims 4 was always how isolated everything is, a big problem that the series had since the first game (which 3 tried to fix). Interactions with other sims happen only when you force your sim to walk around the neighborhood. That's not the case with InZOI, as the game will feature a big open city for you to explore without loading or separated environments. Cars can be used to explore the city as well. But there's not just that, cities can be customized to the player's preferences. You can decide which kind of trees to put down, the billboards to appear, the weather and time of day plus many other details that are simply impossible to tweak in Maxis' series. These will be further expanded upon once the game hits early access and Krafton has more time to receive player feedback. More options and gameplay interactions Image via Krafton The Sims has had some pretty obvious limitations since the beginning of the series because of the way the engine works. InZOI seems like it can and will go beyond, offering the player some realistic interactions between characters, like how the trailer showcases fights between Zois as more realistic and "violent" than the usual cartoon fighting of Maxis' title. Your Zois can do yoga wherever they want, have more realistic interactions with objects, and find work just by walking around the city. As for looks, you can tweak your Zoi's face and hair however you want, even with multiple colors at once. You can even hook up your phone to InZOI to shoot pictures of your face to get your Zoi to look exactly like you. We would be lying if we didn't say that option scares us a bit, but still, it is an interesting new feature to have. AI-generated textures to fully customize your house Image via Krafton This might be a bit of a controversial topic, for obvious reasons, but InZOI does offer the player the opportunity to use AI-generated textures. Say, you want a sofa with a zebra-like texture. Just ask the AI to make you one and there you go. Keep in mind that the game actively avoids featuring any copyrighted images, so you can't make that nightmare Shrek sofa you had in mind. But still, this feature allows flexibility in decorating your house that the Maxis title isn't able to offer unless you download specific mods or buy expensive stuff packs. Also, Krafton guarantees their AI model is sourced from the public domain using works that have the artists' consent. Krafton has mentioned several times how their game is meant to co-exist alongside The Sims, and it will release first in early access so it won't have all the features that Maxis and Electronic Arts have worked on in 25 years of the series. Expecting InZOI to be a The Sims-killer from day one would be definitely too much. But it can be a great way to try out something new and create your new characters with an entirely different vibe and more modern options and graphics.

Mar 24, 2025 - 16:43

InZOI versus The Sims: All major differences

It has taken years, but finally, Electronic Arts' classic franchise seems to have a serious contender for the throne of the best life sim: InZOI. The South Korean title seemingly aims at a slightly different target audience than Maxis' classic series.

So let's check out all the major differences between the two games.

What are the major differences between InZOI and The Sims?

Better looking and more realistic graphics

Zois talking with each other — Image via Krafton

Perhaps this is a bit of an obvious call out, considering The Sims 4 is ten years old now, but InZOI definitely has the upper hand in terms of graphical fidelity. Your dream of having a character that looks like you, your friends, or your celeb crush is now very much a reality. Your mileage may vary if you vibe with either the cartoonish Sims look or the human and realistic look of the Zois from InZOI.

At times, it does look like InZOI is heading towards that uncanny valley look that might turn some people off and also might have some characters look like something between dolls and zombified AI-generated lucid nightmares. The game seems to head towards a more photo-op vibe, to take some beautiful-looking shots of your Zois doing beautiful things. The overall higher graphical quality also means better-looking objects and environments, so good news for all players. Except for those with a low-spec PC, of course.

Fully functional vehicles

The original trailer for InZOI did not miss out on the possibility of making The Sims 4 look like an old game, by showing everyone that cars will indeed be a big part of the game. In Maxis' classic simulation, vehicles seemed to disappear completely even after The Sims 3 had them. They were never brought back officially.

In the life sim game by Krafton, cars are a big part of your character's everyday life, so you will be driving around. But what good is a car if you don't have any place to drive them around? That's why one major feature of the game is...

Open-world and customizable cities

Building a house in InZOI — Image via Krafton

One huge limitation in The Sims 4 was always how isolated everything is, a big problem that the series had since the first game (which 3 tried to fix). Interactions with other sims happen only when you force your sim to walk around the neighborhood. That's not the case with InZOI, as the game will feature a big open city for you to explore without loading or separated environments. Cars can be used to explore the city as well.

But there's not just that, cities can be customized to the player's preferences. You can decide which kind of trees to put down, the billboards to appear, the weather and time of day plus many other details that are simply impossible to tweak in Maxis' series. These will be further expanded upon once the game hits early access and Krafton has more time to receive player feedback.

More options and gameplay interactions

Various Traits in Zois — Image via Krafton

The Sims has had some pretty obvious limitations since the beginning of the series because of the way the engine works. InZOI seems like it can and will go beyond, offering the player some realistic interactions between characters, like how the trailer showcases fights between Zois as more realistic and "violent" than the usual cartoon fighting of Maxis' title.

Your Zois can do yoga wherever they want, have more realistic interactions with objects, and find work just by walking around the city. As for looks, you can tweak your Zoi's face and hair however you want, even with multiple colors at once. You can even hook up your phone to InZOI to shoot pictures of your face to get your Zoi to look exactly like you. We would be lying if we didn't say that option scares us a bit, but still, it is an interesting new feature to have.

AI-generated textures to fully customize your house

The creator in InZOI — Image via Krafton

This might be a bit of a controversial topic, for obvious reasons, but InZOI does offer the player the opportunity to use AI-generated textures. Say, you want a sofa with a zebra-like texture. Just ask the AI to make you one and there you go. Keep in mind that the game actively avoids featuring any copyrighted images, so you can't make that nightmare Shrek sofa you had in mind.

But still, this feature allows flexibility in decorating your house that the Maxis title isn't able to offer unless you download specific mods or buy expensive stuff packs. Also, Krafton guarantees their AI model is sourced from the public domain using works that have the artists' consent.

Krafton has mentioned several times how their game is meant to co-exist alongside The Sims, and it will release first in early access so it won't have all the features that Maxis and Electronic Arts have worked on in 25 years of the series. Expecting InZOI to be a The Sims-killer from day one would be definitely too much. But it can be a great way to try out something new and create your new characters with an entirely different vibe and more modern options and graphics.

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