InZOI is often seen as a simple competitor to The Sims, but it features several features that are uniquely its own. Of course, that can mean that you're uncertain about those features, how they work, and what kind of effects they have on the lives of your Zois. One feature that you won't find in The Sims is karma, as not every Zoi is a good person. Instead, they perform actions that affect their karma, which in turn affects behavior.

The incredibly detailed world of InZOI lets you tailor the Zois to your ideal images, and gives you an overwhelming number of options when it comes to how your Zoi lives their life. Considering the game is only in Early Access, you can expect InZOI will grow and develop in the future, further carving out its place in the world of simulation games. For now, it helps to approach the new features one by one, since even a seasoned Sims player like myself finds that there's a lot to explore.

How Karma Works (Interactions & Consequences)

Deciding What Type Of Zoi You Have

In short, karma decides how your Zoi behaves. Instead of the reputation that you might be familiar with in The Sims that's based on interactions with other Sims, karma isn't based on opinions, but on actions. It's what opens up various interaction options that you can pick with other Zois. As you build good karma, you unlock positive interactions. However, building bad karma unlocks negative interactions. As a result, it's fun to have multiple Zois and build both types of karma to see how the interactions available to you change.

Similar to good karma, you unlock additional options that are mean or hurtful as you gain more negative karma, like committing crimes and getting in fights.

Aside from interactions, there aren't that many consequences for building bad karma. It can often feel like you will end up suffering a higher rate of negative events happening to you or something similar, since morality systems often come with that kind of consequence. As for InZOI, the biggest consequence of having too much bad karma is your Zoi becoming a ghost when they die. While this could be adjusted in the Early Access period, that's about the only impact of bad karma right now.

How To Get Good Karma & All Effects

Becoming A Font Of Positivity

Luckily, InZOI includes a simple way for you to tell which actions give you good karma, and which ones give you bad karma. When you select another Zoi to interact with and go into the Action menu, you'll see that some options have a circle with two dots and tails. This is the karma symbol. If an option has this symbol, and it's blue, then it'll give you good karma. If the symbol is red, then you get bad karma.

Good karma options include those that are uplifting and friendly. So, encouraging somebody, giving directions, making a mood-lifting joke, and other such actions will give you good karma, which then opens additional options that fall into this category of being friendly and encouraging. Aside from unlocking extra options, there aren't any other effects for having a lot of good karma.

How To Get Bad Karma & All Effects

Be Sentenced To A Ghostly Afterlife

Since the blue symbol gives you good karma, the red one gives you bad karma. You'll find this symbol on actions that are mean or hurtful, such as telling somebody to go away, yelling at them, insulting them, shoving them, mocking them, and so on. Similar to good karma, you unlock additional options that are mean or hurtful as you gain more negative karma, like committing crimes and getting in fights.

Aside from more options, having a lot of negative karma has an additional effect that takes place at the time of your Zoi's death. They're doomed to linger as a ghost as punishment. Otherwise, you won't see too many more effects.

As for Zois who don't have a lot of either karma type, you won't see differences in their available actions or any overall effects. It would be great to see the karma system in InZOI receive updates that add effects for all types of karma, including more consequences that take place after death.