Life by You Vs InZOI

Life by You, the upcoming life sim by Paradox, is already getting some competition. It’s called InZOI, another upcoming life sim by Krafton. The two will be released in 2024. So, as fan speculation keeps running high, we thought we’d pit them against each other to see which option makes more sense to play. 

Of course, The Sims has long held the top spot among the best life sims. However, having new contenders vie for the crown is definitely exciting. So, based on the story and gameplay we know so far, is Life by You better than InZOI or vice versa? Let’s find out.

What is Life By You?

Scheduled to release on March 5, 2024, Life by You is an upcoming life simulation game currently being developed by Paradox Tectonic in partnership with Paradox Interactive. It’ll be released on Windows PC platforms via early access and already has a Steam store page you can browse over. Apparently, Life by You will be “one of the most moddable and open life-simulation games,” revolving around creativity and wild possibilities.

What is InZOI?

Meanwhile, InZOI is an upcoming life simulation game currently in development by Krafton. After its official first announcement at the G-Star 2023 event, we’re speculating its release will fall sometime in late 2024. 

Story

On one hand, you’ll have complete control over the human characters you come up with in Life by You. This includes the towns they live in and the relationships they build with their neighbors and friends. However, since Life by You is scheduled for Early Access release in 2024, the developers will be taking in ideas and content users have and implementing them in the final game. To do so, the developing team will make use of mods via ‘Creator Tools’ so that users can design the characters and stories they want and even break the standard rules of life.  

InZOI, on the other hand, is marketed to give The Sims a run for its money. It’ll make you gods, giving you the power to change anything you want. It’ll also constantly dish out new stories across all forms of life for your consumption. But other than that, we don’t have much story detail to go by.

Gameplay

Any fan of life simulation will know the gameplay to expect in Life by You and InZOI. You’ll be striving to keep the humans you create happy, whether by ensuring they eat or, more generally, fulfilling their basic needs. But Life by You and InZOI both intend to make tweaks of their own.

Life by You

On the gameplay front, Life by You plans to feature an open-world setting. It intends to get rid of loading screens, replacing them with real conversations. You’ll be free to drive and bike around the locales and countryside. You’ll also explore quests and unlock new events with time.

A unique aspect of Life by You is modding. The developing team wants you to create your own in-game content. They want you to take charge of the creative process, designing the gameplay and human lives in general, as you please.

The game’s “Creator Tools” seem rather interesting in that they let you manipulate the game directly. You can essentially drag and drop people into places and drive them around in third-person. You can choose to focus on one person or develop the stories of multiple people. In that sense, Life by You will have a career mode where you’ll rank based on how well you’re performing life duties like raising a family or falling in love.

Of course, it goes to say that Life by You will have unique conversations for each person based on the point in life they’re currently at. While these conversations can generate themselves, you’re free to craft your own dialogue in-game.

That aside, a building side of gameplay will feature in Life by You, where you can craft dream homes and businesses from scratch. You’ll be able to furnish buildings, whether inside or outside, and even rearrange entire towns however you see fit.

All in all, Life by You seems to place you in the driver’s seat. You’re the ‘painter’, and the game is your canvas. From designing human traits and deep personalities to switching the settings on the fly, the human lives in Life by You will be in the player’s complete control.

InZOI

InZOI, on the other hand, intends to make you a god in its gameplay. Ideally, it wants to give you sovereign reign over the lives of the humans in the game. From the trailer, we see loads of homes, businesses, shops, and other buildings displayed across an open-world setting. We see Zois watering plants, mopping floors, shopping, playing musical instruments, and even making mistakes like setting fire to ovens. Zois goes to work, and you help them manage their schedule. Also, a mood system will keep track of their happiness levels, likely based on their personalities and ambitions.

In more ways than one, InZOI feels similar to The Sims. Its character creation is in-depth, allowing you to select outfits, hairstyles, personalities, and more. The same goes for the build mode, which lets you pick windows, floors, and room specifications. Oh, and you’ll also have Psykhet, the fluffy cat that keeps you in the loop on neighborhood news and developments.

As of now, the specifics of the gameplay remain incomplete. Still, we can anticipate photorealistic visuals, which is a first in the life sim genre. There’s no doubt that InZOI is gunning to deliver high graphical fidelity, thanks to Unreal Engine 5. 

Verdict

Picking which game is better is a little tricky. On one end, Life by You offers modding, giving you leeway to design and create anything you desire. But InZOI also looks jaw-droppingly beautiful. It’s photorealistic in ways no other life sim has managed to accomplish. But in the long run, Life by You’s potential to expand into something greater takes the lead on this one, though do remember, ‘potential’ doesn’t always equal results.

So, what’s your take on our comparison of Life by You vs InZOI? Let us know your thoughts here on our socials or down in the comments.