inZOI Fixes Bug, Prevents Running Over Children

The inZOI development team has swiftly addressed a disturbing bug that allowed players to run over children within the game, ensuring it is no longer possible in the latest patch. Dive into the details of this shocking feature and hear directly from the inZOI Director about the challenges of maintaining a realistic style in gaming.

inZOI Early Access Fixes Shocking Bug

As inZOI's Early Access phase progresses, a troubling feature was brought to light by the community: players could run over children with vehicles. A post on the inZOI subreddit on March 28, titled "I don't think that Krafton realizes that you can run over children in inZOI," showcased a video of a child being struck by a car, resulting in the child flying a significant distance and ultimately passing away due to the impact.

While the developers had previously discussed various in-game fatalities during the inZOI Online Showcase, including being run over by a vehicle, they clarified that this was never intended to involve children. In a statement to Eurogamer on March 28, a Krafton spokesperson confirmed that this was an unintended bug and has been fixed in the latest patch.

The statement from Krafton emphasized, "These depictions are highly inappropriate and do not reflect the intent and values of inZOI. We understand the seriousness of this matter regarding age-appropriate content, and we are enhancing our internal review processes to prevent similar issues in the future." This move is crucial, as inZOI holds an ESRB rating of T for Teen, and retaining such a feature could lead to a stricter age rating.

inZOI Director Admits Realistic Style Makes It Hard For Goofing Around In-Game

Currently, inZOI boasts a "Very Positive" review rating on Steam, largely due to its detailed and high-quality graphics. However, in an interview with PCGamesN on March 31, inZOI’s Game Director, Hyungjun ‘Kjun’ Kim, discussed the challenges of their hyper-realistic approach.

Kjun elaborated, "We spent a lot of time pondering this. With such realistic graphics, we constantly debated how far to push that realism. We wanted to add some comical or lighthearted elements, but they often clashed with our grounded visuals, which was sometimes disappointing."

Kjun has expressed admiration for The Sims 4, particularly its playful and goofy identity, which sets it apart in the genre. However, inZOI's realistic style makes it challenging to incorporate similar lighthearted elements. Despite this, Kjun remains confident in their approach, stating, "We believe this level of immersive graphics will resonate with players, and throughout development, we’ve felt both proud and excited to bring this world to life."

While inZOI surpasses The Sims 4 in terms of detail and quality, the developers are still working to define the game's unique identity to stand strong against the life-simulation giant. For a deeper dive into our thoughts on inZOI’s Early Access release, check out our detailed article below!