InZOIhas been released into early access after a lot of hype for theSimscompetitor. And while it is not fair to judge a game too harshly in early access,InZOIfeels like it’s still a little rough around the edges. There are a lot of features that feel half-baked, and the game is only playable in a state of experimentation because of this.
Unfortunately,InZOIis too good to be true, despite thelowered expectationsThe Simsgivesus, andthere are plenty of things that absolutely need to be fixed as soon as possible. This is a great job from a studio trying to compete withThe Sims 4, but this feels like the kind of competition EA hoped for. It just makesThe Simslook a lot better. However, there a few problemsInZOIcould fix in EA before its full release that would really help.
10Having Categories in Building Mode
Searching By Rooms Isn’t As Helpful
I can’t be the only one who went intoInZOI’sbuild mode and was immediately confused by where to find everything. The build mode for the game looks a lot likeThe Sims 4, but it does not use Categories.InZOIusesrooms to organize its items to buy, which isn’t as intuitive because it can feel scattered.
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If a room likely shares an item, it will be in one or the other, not both. While I was looking for a mirror, I was in the wrong room despite mirrors being common in many rooms. This happened so often that I just ended up using the item search feature every single time I needed anything.It is so much easier to find things through the search function, but players should not have to work around a menu to find what they need.
9Fix The Zoi Search Function
The Names Aren’t Even Alphabetized
InZOIhas players take responsibility for an entire city, and they just happen to control certain Zois. Unfortunately, finding Zois to move to other places or just to see details about them, like karma and things like that, is a pain. Players are given the entire list of Zois for a city, and the scroll bar becomes very small.Finding Zois wouldn’t be a problem if the search function worked at all, but it doesn’t.
Unfortunately, for anyone who tries to find Zois based on their name, the search bar never responds to anything typed inside. It is a basic necessity of the game, but it does not work when it is supposed to. This meanshaving to scroll through a list that is not alphabetical and hoping to find the Zoiamong what feels like hundreds of names that normally have no pictures.
8The Economy Needs A Lot of Work
This Is Why The Game Is Mostly About Experimentation
TheInZOIeconomy should be in recession because it is impossible to make enough money to live in the city. It may be because each job only gives three working days, butthe pay does not add up to what is spent living in a house while also paying for food. This is another very basic part of the game that should work just fine right now but doesn’t. This means players have to use the money cheat while playing.
It really hurt the game’s realism, andI just stopped working because there was no point if I was just going to have to use the money cheat all the time. I think it also has a lot to do with food prices, because making breakfast at home can cost 12 in-game dollars. This same meal does not fill the food bar as much as a taco from the beach, which will cost Zois $5.
7Time Drags On So Slowly Every Day
The Game Is Far Too Slow
I was not happy with how fastThe Simsplayed before playingInZOI. Now I see what it’s like to play on a very slow day, which is a lot harder. Based on my own calculation,a minute inInZOItime is about six seconds in real time.The Sims 4takes about two and a half seconds in real time for one minute. So, while it takes one hour for 24 hours inThe Sims 4, it takes 2.4 hours for 24 hours inInZOI.
This could be fixed by just having a faster speed setting for sleeping and doing boring things.
This is somethingThe Sims 4still does better thanInZOI. Some of this is made faster thanks to speeding up time, but I would compare the fastest speed-up inInZOIto speeding up time inThe Simsat its second level.It is so very slow, and it takes a few tries to make it go fasterbecause sometimes it just won’t work at all.
6Zois Needs to Fall Way Too Fast
They Also Rise Far Too Fast
The time may be slower inInZOI,but the needs fall as fast as they do inThe Sims. They also fill up faster than they would in fast-forward mode inThe Sims. A good example of this isneeding to sleep twice a day for about five to six hours a day. This is to bring the energy meter to full, which will stay that way until your Zoi needs to sleep again in eight hours.
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In my experience, coffee doesn’t work either. Every caffeinated drink goes like water for Zois. This ruins the immersion because Zois will be on benches and chairs taking naps in the middle of the day. Your Zoi has to join them or go home for a quick nap every day. This has to be fixed becauseit’s like taking a forced break from playing every in-game day.
5Skills Rank Up Too Quickly
It’s Not Fun If It’s Too Easy To Do
The SimsandInZOIlet your first skill level go by quickly, butInZOIis clearly faster.The Simsalso makes each level harder to reach, butInZOIdoesn’t seem to slow the progression down much.I was able to rank up a skill to eight in three in-game days, and this was while doing everything normally and ranking up other skills.
InZOIneeds to slow this progression a lot more because it seems like Zois can master any craft with a few hours of dedicated time in each day. Mastering a skill in any other game feels rewarding, but it feels like no big deal inInZOI. It made me stop caring very much about ranking up skills becauseskills are too easy to level up. The progression of skills inTheSimscompared to InZOI is likeMaplestoryfrom two decades ago compared to today. It’s so much faster now.
4The Jail Doesn’t Feel Real
It’s Like Getting Grounded
When you commit a crime, like beating someone up, the police lock you in jail.The jail feels like it had almost no thought put into it;It is just a bed, a vending machine, a toilet, and a sink for Zois. Zois get out at nine in the morning depending on their crime, but that’s all there is to it. There’s no way to just skip the sentence, and Zois will refuse to sleep unless tired.
Basically, players have to wait out the sentence, and even speeding up time is slow. It feels like too much of an inconvenience and gives players no way of escaping.This feature is so half-baked that it shouldn’t have been added in at all, and it feels like a way forInZOIto say it has a feature thatThe Simsdoes not. It’s hard to rememberThe Simsadding in something so boring just to have the feature.
3Make Interactions A Lot Better
The Interactions Are Lacking
InZOIhas interactions that are kind of well-thought-out. However, they’re so lackluster. Many are just the same interaction but with a different way of saying it or with an emoji instead.There are some actions to take, but many are the same action as others, with maybe a song or something else over it to make it seem different. These interactions should feel a lot more developed than this when the game really releases.
Growing in levels of friendship and such opens a few new interaction options, but not many. It feels like the relationship is exactly the same regardless of how far it has gone.Enemies and lovers all feel the same, and without the relationship bar, the only thing that differentiates lovers and enemies are the few extra interaction options. The lack of interaction options, alongside these other issues, may explain theinexpensive price for early access.
AI Is Pushed Too Heavily
Players can use the AI inInZOIto animate their Zois. This is initially really cool, but AI is not as good as everyone makes it out to be. It gets things wrong and that’s annoying.There is no reason why players shouldn’t be able to animate Zoisto make poses themselves. I went to school to study computer animation, and it’s a lot simpler than it looks. It won’t be professional quality, but at least it could be closer than an AI can get.
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If a player already has the key pose they want,it feels silly to ask an AI to do it for them. It may take longer, but players are assured to get the poses exactly how they want them if they are able to animate them. It’s more of a personal pet peeve, but it would really helpInZOIto give players more freedom here.
1Give Way More Options When Making Zois
The Customization Is Missing So Much
Don’t believe the hype around theInzoicharacter customization. The character creator for clothing and accessories feels so empty. There are few choices all over and making a style is incredibly limited as well. I know how to 3D model, but I didn’t expect to have to for a video game just to have a shirt I wanted. TheZoi customization should be the most important part of this game, and yet it feels so limited.
The lack of clothing inInZOIis a great example of where the game is at right now. It has a lot of room for a lot of things, but it’s not filled and is in a place where developers can add more to it over time. UntilInZOIfixes and improves these qualities, it’s just not worth trying yet.
