The upcoming life simulation inZOI has released a lot of information about the early access in a showcase on Steam. It also highlighted one of the most important features for many players: death as a central feature.
What ways are there? Those who prefer to spend their time in life simulations with the death of their characters can do so without any problems in inZOI. As the developers presented in their presentation (via YouTube), there are 16 different ways to kick the bucket in inZOI.
Game Director Hyungjun “Kjun” Kim presented various ways in which death could occur in the life simulation during the presentation:
In inZOI, you can go to the bathroom, and if you slip, you might die. Or if you eat old food, you might have to go to the bathroom and die again. And if you repair broken electronics, you could get an electric shock, so you need to be careful. I set the risk very low, but actually, electronics can break very often. We have 16 different types of deaths.
Later, the Game Director also mentioned that there will be car accidents. While ZOIs can automatically drive themselves when early access on Steam starts, there is apparently an option to control this manually as well. As a pedestrian, you are always exposed to the dangers of road traffic.
Here you can watch the trailer for inZOI:
Whoever does evil will befall evil
Does the karma system play a role? In inZOI, all actions of your ZOIs are evaluated by the game to determine whether your character is good or evil. Although Hyungjun “Kjun” Kim did not elaborate on how the system relates to the death of your characters, he gives an example that could also happen to you in the game:
But one thing I can say, which only exists in inZOI, […] is dying from the need for recognition. In the modern world, there are many people who feel fulfilled by being recognized by others, and this death reflects that. In inZOI, for example, I might have argued with someone, and the rumor would have spread and come back to me. I might receive a text about it, or a friend might tell me about the rumor, and if the rumor is negative, my need for recognition can decrease. And if that decreases too drastically, then you can die from it.
Furthermore, it has been shown in earlier presentations that characters can interact strongly with their smartphones, which distinguishes the game from other life simulations, such as Sims 4, as the negative aspects of social media are also addressed.
So far, it is still unclear whether inZOI delivers on its promises. The developers have presented many features, but it is still unclear if and when they will be integrated into the game. Our colleagues from GameStar have also addressed the question: Is inZOI just a graphics blender? We will only know how good inZOI is when the tests for the game are available.
The karma system seems to be one of the central features and is also a major differentiating factor from Sims 4. Those who have lost their character to one of the 16 causes of death may even have to atone: Those who are too mean in inZOI on Steam will be punished by becoming a ghost and must make amends for everything
