Unlocking the Paranormal: InZOI’s Ghostly Twist on Life Simulation Gaming

The entertainment director of InZOI, the forthcoming rival to The Sims, has disclosed what occurs to your Zois after they pass away. Spoiler alert: a few may very well linger.

If you happen to are someone who enjoys allowing your Sims to experience a natural life, whether it be through old age or unfortunate events, congratulations, you might just be a monster, and we probably won’t be friends. I am far too attached to my creations and disable aging altogether, but for those who prefer to let nature take its course, there may indeed be life after death in InZOI.

As noted by PCGamer, director Hyungjun “Kjun” Kim addressed the game’s Discord server to reveal some of its upcoming early-access features: “We aim to keep the playability of ghosts fairly limited so it doesn’t overshadow the core gameplay, but we want to ensure the experience is captivating enough when it does occur.”

InZOI incorporates a karma system, and if your Zoi has accumulated enough karma, it will transition to a peaceful afterlife upon death. If it hasn’t, it will remain as a ghost that you might “encounter at designated times under specific conditions.” They will not be immediately playable, but that is intended for a later stage. “Any further development for ghosts will have to occur post-launch,” states Kjun.

Although the ghosts won’t be playable yet, InZOI is utilizing Nvidia Ace, the company’s generative AI with text-to-speech capabilities designed to make NPCs more lifelike. They refer to these NPCs as “Smart Zoi,” and in the video shared by publisher Krafton, they appear somewhat similar to typical NPCs interacting with their environment. I witnessed this technology used in an Nvidia demonstration last year (not for InZOI), and was not particularly impressed, but perhaps it will be executed creatively for InZOI.

To gain a clearer understanding of what this Sims competitor will look like, check out our InZOI preview. You should also check out other games similar to The Sims if you are a fan of the genre.