Depressed is one of the new personality characteristics added to inZOI in Update v0.4.0 on October 30, 2025 as part of the unified Mentality System overhaul. A Zoi with this characteristic frequently slips into sadness after negative conversations or disliked actions, and turns to writing or creative arts to ride out the low mood. Treat Depressed as a simulation tag that shapes autonomous behavior, not as a comment on real-world wellbeing.
Overview
Characteristics in inZOI sit alongside traits, ambitions, and urges as the four pillars of a Zoi's personality. Each Zoi can carry up to two characteristics that do not conflict with each other, and they are available from the Young Adult life stage onward. Depressed joined the roster in v0.4.0 as part of a pack of 15 new characteristics that included Bookworm, Cheerful, Emotionally Needy, Extroverted, Fitness Enthusiast, and others.
The in-game tooltip from Create a Zoi reads: "Negative conversations or disliked actions often lead to feelings of sadness. Writing or engaging in creative arts becomes deeply immersive during moments of sadness." In practical terms the characteristic lowers the threshold at which negative social events and disliked activities convert into the sad emotion, and it pushes the Zoi toward creative outlets while that emotion is active.
Description
Where other Zois shrug off a dull chat or a chore they disliked, a Depressed Zoi stores the negative charge and it registers as sadness. The characteristic's flavor is introspective and reflective rather than cheerful. Community documentation drawn from the in-game CAZ interface describes the behavior as "deeply engaged in creative pursuits like writing and artistic activities" when the Zoi is sad, meaning the trait reframes a low mood as fuel for creative autonomy.
This is purely a game-mechanical behavior loop. Depressed does not block positive interactions, it does not lock the Zoi out of any career, and it does not strip them of free will. It simply biases their mood response toward sadness and their autonomous activity choices toward creative output when that mood is present.
Gameplay Effects
Mood Impact
Depressed amplifies how strongly negative events land on the Zoi. The primary visible effects, as described in patch-note coverage and the in-game tooltip, are:
Negative conversations, arguments, and rejections have a higher chance of triggering the sad emotion.
Performing actions the Zoi personally dislikes (tasks tagged as disliked in their profile) can similarly push them into sadness.
Once sad, the Zoi leans into writing or creative arts autonomously rather than seeking out distractions.
Autonomous Actions
When the sad mood is active, a Depressed Zoi is more likely to queue up activities like writing at a desk, journaling on a computer, painting, or other creative-arts interactions. Community summaries describe the Zoi as becoming "deeply immersive" in these activities during low moods, which players often read as the characteristic's signature loop: feel down, then channel it into a book, poem, or canvas.
Social Interactions
Depressed does not lock social interactions, but it makes the Zoi more reactive to the quality of their conversations. Friendly chats still work normally. Heated arguments, insults, and interactions that go poorly land harder than they would on a Zoi without the characteristic, and the resulting sadness tends to linger long enough to shape what the Zoi does next.
Compatible and Incompatible Characteristics
Each Zoi may hold up to two characteristics, and the Create a Zoi screen filters out combinations that conflict. Beyond the conflict rules enforced by the interface, developer notes on the v0.4.0 system describe traits and characteristics as "interdependent," meaning the primary trait choice influences which characteristics feel natural.
Natural thematic pairings for Depressed include:
Bookworm, since both characteristics pull the Zoi toward quiet, indoor, literary activity.
Introverted, which reinforces the tendency to withdraw after negative social events.
Characteristics that pull in the opposite direction include Cheerful and Extroverted, which read joy from positive conversation and social time. The game's CAZ screen will generally prevent pairs that clash outright, so if the interface refuses a combination, pick a different second characteristic rather than fighting it.
Recommended Scenarios
Depressed fits storytelling-focused saves where the Zoi's creative output is the point of the playthrough. It works especially well in these setups:
A writer or painter arc where the player wants organic, mood-driven reasons for the Zoi to sit down at the keyboard or easel.
A "starving artist" legacy where relationships are volatile and the Zoi converts emotional turbulence into finished works.
A reflective, slice-of-life Zoi who spends a lot of time alone and journals about daily events.
Depressed is a weaker pick for ambitious career playthroughs that depend on constant social performance, because a single bad workday conversation can leave the Zoi sad for longer than a neutral personality would allow.
Tips
Keep a writing desk, a notebook, or an easel at home. When the Zoi enters the sad mood, their autonomous action queue will often reach for these surfaces before the player has to intervene.
Watch the Zoi's likes and dislikes. Scheduling a heavily disliked activity back-to-back with social events can stack sadness faster than intended, which is fine for a writer arc but punishing for anything else.
Balance the mood if you need the Zoi at a social event. Meeting core needs and leaning on the Zoi's liked activities can help the sad emotion clear before a performance moment.
Pair the characteristic with a primary trait in the Unique and Creative family, such as Visionary, to reinforce the artistic-output fantasy.
Update History
Version | Date | Change |
|---|---|---|
v0.4.0 | October 30, 2025 | Added as one of 15 new characteristics in the unified Mentality System. |