Life simulation games have always had one crown jewel: The Sims. Since its debut in 2000, Maxis and EA’s series has shaped the genre, with The Sims 4 currently serving as the most up-to-date entry. But in March 2025, Krafton stepped into the arena with InZOI, a sleek new life simulator built in Unreal Engine 5.

Naturally, comparisons were inevitable. Is InZOI a genuine rival—or just a flashy newcomer trying to imitate? Let’s break down how the two stack up across customization, world design, and gameplay.

Character Creation: CAS vs. CAZ

Fans of The Sims 4 know the joy of Create-a-Sim (CAS). It’s streamlined, friendly, and lets players shape everything from a Sim’s jawline to their walk style. CAS also supports toddlers and has an advanced system for sexual orientation, voices, and body sliders.

InZOI’s version—Create-a-Zoi (CAZ)—takes things in a different direction. On one hand, it offers extreme detail: players can tweak eyelashes, pupils, and facial angles in ways CAS can’t. You can even use AI tools to design your own clothing textures or 3D print accessories. On the other hand, it lacks some basics: toddlers can’t be customized, and Zoi voices can’t be adjusted. Right now, CAS is broader and more polished, but CAZ is more experimental and innovative.

Verdict: Sims 4 is friendlier and more complete, but InZOI is exciting for players who love endless customization potential.

Build Mode: User-Friendly vs. Ultra-Detailed

In The Sims 4, building is famously intuitive. Need a roof? Drag and drop. Want a pool, pond, or terrain? It’s all built-in, with tons of wallpaper swatches and object varieties.

InZOI’s build mode is more complex—and sometimes overwhelming. The game offers texture sliders, color wheels, JPG pattern imports, and free object rotation with incredible precision. It’s basically a dream for detail-obsessed players. However, roofs, terrain, and other basics are clunky or missing. You can’t save custom swatches either, which slows down building.

Verdict: Sims 4 wins on usability. InZOI wins on precision—if you’re patient enough to learn it.

World Design: Open vs. Fragmented

One of The Sims 4’s most divisive choices was moving away from open worlds. Traveling between neighborhoods means loading screens, and cars are purely decorative.

By contrast, InZOI delivers a true open world. Zois can hop on subways, buses, or even drive cars themselves. Cities feel alive, with simulated NPCs who start rumors, pick fights, and interact with each other even when you’re not watching. You can even edit the city’s cleanliness, billboard ads, and wildlife population. It feels dynamic and unpredictable—something Sims 4’s structured neighborhoods can’t match.

Verdict: InZOI dominates here. The freedom of exploration and community simulation makes its cities feel more “lived in.”

Gameplay: Chaos vs. Realism

The Sims 4 thrives on its sandbox chaos. Sims juggle multitasking, experience exaggerated emotions, and often spiral into hilarious disasters. Expansion packs add layers of depth: pets, supernatural life states, elaborate family gameplay, and careers that feel fleshed out.

InZOI takes a more grounded approach. Personality types and karma systems shape how Zois behave, with consequences like jail time for committing crimes or strained family bonds if you neglect relationships. Emotions feel more consistent (you won’t have a Zoi turn flirty while grieving a spouse). Preteens and seniors already exist as life stages, and raising kids has long-term effects on their adult personalities. Weddings and family dynamics are also smoother than The Sims 4’s notoriously buggy versions.

The downside? Many mechanics are still barebones. Careers are limited, babies jump straight to kids, and multitasking isn’t as seamless as The Sims.

Verdict: Sims 4 is richer right now, but InZOI feels more immersive and has room to grow.

Graphics and Performance

There’s no contest here. InZOI is jaw-droppingly realistic, thanks to Unreal Engine 5. Lighting, clothing textures, and character models push life sims into near-photorealism. You can even switch to an over-the-shoulder view and walk around the city like a third-person RPG.

Meanwhile, The Sims 4’s cartoony art style has aged surprisingly well. It runs on most PCs without issue and leans into charm rather than realism.

Verdict: InZOI for graphics, Sims 4 for accessibility.

The Future of The Sims: No Sims 5, Just Project Rene

One big factor in this comparison is the future of The Sims itself. Much to fans’ disappointment, there will not be a Sims 5 as a standalone, separate game. Instead, EA and Maxis are developing Project Rene, which they describe as “the next evolution of The Sims.”

Unlike traditional entries, Project Rene will be free-to-play and focused on online, multiplayer experiences. It’s intended to coexist with The Sims 4, not replace it. This means The Sims 4 will continue to receive expansions and updates, while Project Rene becomes a new platform where players can build, play, and share with others.

EA has emphasized that Project Rene won’t force players to “start over.” Your Sims 4 progress and families will remain supported as that game continues to evolve. Instead, the future of The Sims looks more like an ongoing ecosystem than a traditional numbered release.

For players who still crave a new standalone life sim experience, this reality leaves a gap — and that’s exactly where InZOI might step in as the “next best thing.” With its realism, open world, and innovation, it scratches the itch for a more modern, advanced life simulation game at a time when EA is taking a very different direction.

The Big Picture: Should You Play Sims 4 or InZOI Right Now?

If you want a complete, polished, and expansive sandbox, The Sims 4 is still king. A decade’s worth of expansions, mods, and community content make it endlessly replayable—even if you have to spend hundreds on DLC to unlock everything.

But if you crave immersion, realism, and unpredictability, InZOI is worth jumping into. Even in Early Access, it already offers a living world, advanced customization, and features players have begged Maxis to bring back for years. It’s rough around the edges, but its foundation is strong.

Think of it this way:

  • The Sims 4 is the safe choice, offering a decade of content and polish.
  • InZOI is the bold newcomer—unfinished but brimming with potential to redefine the genre.

And with no Sims 5 on the horizon, only Project Rene’s multiplayer experiment, InZOI might just be the closest thing fans get to a “next-gen” single-player life simulator.