Inzoi: A breath of fresh air for life sims on the Mac

Inzoi is shaking up life simulators: ambitious, modern, and very early to play on the Mac.

- BY JAN GRUBER

Life simulators are among the longest-lived and most-played game genres, and hardly any other title has dominated the field like The Sims (fave.co/4nRrANJ). Game developer Krafton wants to set new sim standards with Inzoi with a realistic, open world, smart Al, in-depth design options, and lots of customization. Particularly noteworthy is that Inzoi surprises with a Mac release that's almost an equal to the PC version. In this review, I'll examine whether Inzoi is the creative new beginning many Sims fans are hoping for, and how the ambitious project performs on macOS in everyday life.

GAMEPLAY AND FEATURES: FREEDOM, SIMULATION, DRAMA

The heart of Inzoi lies in an open, detailed city in which digital life follows its own rules. Compared to established representatives of the genre, Inzoi feels much more "alive" thanks to its real-time world, dynamic day-night rhythm, realistic road traffic, and a persistently simulated neighborhood. The controls are direct, the menus are streamlined, and after just a few minutes, you can immerse yourself in the management of your character(s), houses, everyday problems, and career paths.

The character-specific progression system is a highlight. Motivation, personality, career choice, friends—everything influences events, and social life is much easier to feel than with other sim games. Inzoi emphasizes variety with surprising events, relationship dynamics, and even long-term developments: characters do not simply age, but change their preferences, react differently to failures, and relationships slowly degrade, or become "historically" anchored in the long run.