I've seen a lot of Sims players complain that this game is barren, especially on the interaction front. As a Sims player myself, I have an observation on this front: This game, far moreso than the Sims, is a game where you get out as much as you put into it.

Let me explain.

In the Sims, the game is designed in a very quirky, zany sort of way, where there's always something going on and half the time it's so obvious that you can't miss it. It's also designed such that most things have a direct mechanical impact. The entire conversation system is a mechanical benchmark for the interaction. Keep clicking the right dialogue options and the meter will go up, so to speak. It rewards goals-driven gameplay at every moment.

inZOI is going for something different. A grounded, more serious tone. Something less mechanical and more... lived, if that makes sense. It portrays a world that isn't always lively, where a kiss is incredibly meaningful and a promotion is a milestone rather than a mundane gameplay goal. Interactions are a major place this is felt. If you would, allow me to illustrate my point through my interactions with one Sung Harang.

My Zoi met this girl in a park, where she was happily clapping along to a busker's song. Thought it was cute, so I sent my Zoi to express that in his greeting as he sat across from her. Three dates later, things were going extremely well. She was very affectionate, always swearing her undying devotion via text. But I couldn't help but notice I never saw her around the city again, and even getting her to agree to come meet me was difficult. She was always otherwise engaged. One day, I came upon her house while exploring a new area of the city and decided to stop in. I realized at that time she was a single mother with three kids.



It was a bit of a shock. No wonder she could rarely get out of the house! With my Zoi being a carefree romantic, I had to think long and hard about where I wanted this to go, despite how serious it had become. But he still stayed a while. She had a cough and was looking pretty run down, so I had my Zoi serenade her in her living room, which picked her spirits right up. Also met with the family and taught one of the boys some boxing moves.

While pondering this that night, I came upon a girl named Min Yurim, who I'd met before Harang but only briefly. At the time I thought, "She's cute. Maybe she could be the first date of the game?" But it ended up just being a passing greeting. Well, at the time, my Zoi was wanting to express love, so I thought... "We'll just see if this goes anywhere, just long enough to fulfill that urge." Since the thing with Harang was feeling a bit rocky. The conversation was going well, a real crush was blooming. But when asked about her relationship status, Yurim sassily walked away, teasing that she'd maybe reveal it when they got to know eachother better. I felt like maybe fate was leading my Zoi towards Harang. Did some singing, had some cart food, decided to head home a couple hours later. Who was walking by the subway station but Min Yurim. So I went for it. Hand holding chat. Nailed it. Got the urge fulfilled, left with some mixed feelings.



The next morning, my Zoi heads to Cafe Gaon, bright and early. He's hungry, so he sips some drinks while waiting for the cafe to open. Blip. It's Min Yurim. She wants to meet up. At Cafe Gaon. The odds. I accept. Before eating, I have my Zoi wait by the window and think as a player about how I plan to approach this. Is it a date? Is it a friendly breakfast? What is she wanting out of it? "I just randomly thought of you and reached out," she said... That could mean anything, especially from someone who's already shown some cheeky tendencies.

Fortunately, the Relationship Log gave me clues. The first impression was warm, but the conversation that day was nothing special. Yet when they met up last night... "Held by their warm gaze throughout the conversation, it felt as if my heart was melting." "Made to feel complately at ease as their warmth resonated around everything—a moment of perfection." This felt like it could be serious. Played it mostly cool... but then she intiated another hand-holding chat. Last night she was beaming an almost amused smile when this happened, but today? Shyly placing a hand on her face, swooning back and forth. Okay, it was definitely serious.



A bathroom break gave my Zoi a moment to reflect, and more importantly, me a moment to reflect. After evaluating the Relationship Logs of both ladies and just thinking back myself on the moments with Harang, I wasn't sure I was ready to commit to this move. Just before our "date" was up, my Zoi told her he wasn't looking for anything serious. Min Yurim... was disappointed, but hit it well with a smile and a comforting touch on the shoulder.

Went to sing again. It's a hobby of my Zoi's. While singing that one song (you know the one), I was reminded of our second date at the karaoke place. When my Zoi first kissed Harang and made their status as a couple more official. I got the sudden urge to run to her house to see her. As I was waiting to cross, a text came in. "Honestly, I feel like there has been some distance between us lately... Maybe it's just me, but sometimes it seems like you're out of my league." I could have set up a meeting right there. The gameplay choice would have been to do so. It's the most surefire way to see her. But I'd already made my decision to see her, so I said "let's hang out sometime" to surprise her.

Then I noticed my Zoi suddenly became concentrated. When I checked why... "You got a message, and it got you thinking. That person really sees something special in you... so now you have even more to live up to." My Zoi seemed decided, and this shattered my indecision as well. I ran across the crosswalk (passing one of her sons going the other way) and into the house. No one was home. The park? The riverside park was where they first met, and was right across the street from her home. The kids were going there, so maybe she was there too? Ran around all over, but didn't find her. So I sat my Zoi outside her front door. And because it seemed appropriate, I switched on the rain.

My Zoi sat there for three hours before the boys returned home. He said a few words to them before they went inside, but no sign of their mother. It was another hour of waiting in the rain (which I kept refreshing because DRAMA, DAMNIT). Finally, she crossed the street in her workout clothes. She must have been finishing up a workout at the park and I hadn't thought to go looking for areas with workout equipment. When she showed up, she was looking a little tired and uninspired. My Zoi immediately picked her up off her feet and brought a huge smile to her face... and then proposed, because screw it, indecision shattered.



When my Zoi left her that night, she was humming happily and twisting back and forth like a teenager who'd just had her confession accepted by her crush. Maybe this is weird, but it kinda made me happy that I left her in that state after she showed up looking so tired and worried about life? She stood there for like five minutes, just being all happy, while my Zoi waited to cross the street before finally going inside just before the crosswalk went green.

This kind of story never happened for me in a Sims game. Sure, I had moments that were kinda romantic or dramatic, but... The way everything was so goals-driven, the way moodlets could transform someone in a split-second from one action, the comedic undertones of the game... It just never made it stick with me like this did.

There was something about how real it all was, how serious and "normal" it was, that made literally picking Harang up and princess carrying her in front of her house way more special than it would've been in Sims, where that sort of thing happens routinely. Something about the little tells throughout the growth of the relationship. The little smiles and subtle shifts in mood when my Zoi was around, the way my Zoi's day brightened when he spent time with her...

But the key thing here is that I would not have experienced this kind of lingering drama had I not been roleplaying it. It's very possible to just pick whatever for dialogue and wait for bars to go up in this game. To keep clicking until that romance meter is full after a single night of interaction. My active decision to take this slow, to hand-pick dialogue options, to strategically deploy big moments like the gifting of flowers or a forehead kiss, and my willingness to pay attention to things like the Relationship Log throughout to make sure I knew how my Zoi was feeling about everything... It's these things that elevated it from mundane gameplay to a lowkey k-drama.

This is why I say you get out of this game what you put in. It doesn't make everything obvious all the time. But if you look, if you play it like a life sim rather than playing it like a Sims clone, its charm is there in spades. If you don't want to play this way, that's fine, it's not for everyone. But if that's the case and you're finding the game boring, this may not be the game for you. That would also be fine. We all like what we like.

Either way, hope this helps someone enjoy the game even more. As for me, this game is what I always wanted to get out of the Sims but never could for its lack of seriousness. I'll always love the Sims, and I'll always have a reason to go back and play it... But for me personally, I think inZOI is the life sim I've been waiting for since TS1.

Remember that God reconciled you regardless of whether you believe or not. 1 Timothy 4:10; it's all mankind, not only those who believe. Take heart in that, knowing your sins are paid for and you'll one day be made alive beyond the reach of suffering in the time after the ages conclude.