Disney gaming can be a bit of a hit-or-miss situation. On one hand, you have the wildly popular Kingdom Hearts series filled with lovable Disney characters and plenty of action. On the other, you have more approachable mobile games featuring your favorite characters. If you have been looking for a more laid-back Disney gaming experience that still satisfies playing a story-based game without getting into the chaos of action gaming, you’ll want to check out Disney Dreamlight Valley. The multi-platform title incorporates features found in many beloved life simulation games but with an extra layer of exploration. And while the game isn’t without flaws, it is likely to strike the right notes for much of its target audience. Here’s a look at my time in Disney Dreamlight Valley!
What is Disney Dreamlight Valley?
Disney Dreamlight Valley is a life simulation from video game publisher and developer Gameloft, playable on the PC, Mac, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 5, Playstation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series One. This review is based on my experiences playing it on the Nintendo Switch.
Every version except the one for Mac is currently in Early Access for a price (more on that in a moment), with plans to become a free-to-play game when it officially launches in 2023. There are three packages for paid Early Access: The Standard Founder’s Edition ($29.99), the Deluxe Founder’s Edition ($49.99), and the Ultimate Founder’s Edition ($69.99). Each edition includes exclusive cosmetic items, furniture, and Moonstones (in-game currency) based on the tier purchased (8k, 14.5k, or 20k, respectively).
Animal Crossing, But Make it Disney
If I had to compare Disney Dreamlight Valley to a previous gaming experience, I would say it is closest to Nintendo’s Animal Crossing series. Both have a heavy emphasis on customization and interaction with memorable characters. In the case of Disney Dreamlight Valley, the cast of characters has a remarkably colossal well to draw from, all with deep emotional attachments. I think that the emotional component, likely backed up by nostalgia, will help draw in players who might not have been interested otherwise.
Personalize Your Avatar and Your World
You customize your character’s appearance at the beginning of your adventure. You’ll choose their body type, skin tone, eye color, and hairstyle, with an impressively wide range of options. These decisions are not permanent and can be changed in the menu should you want a different look later.
You can even go a step further and customize your look with different pieces of apparel and decorative motifs.
And then top it off by adding an animal companion to follow you on your adventure.
And the customization isn’t limited to your avatar. After a certain point, you’ll be able to rearrange the different locales of Dreamlight Valley as you see fit, moving decor around and placing new ones that you’ve built, unlocked, or purchased.
Interacting with Characters
A good part of the fun is engaging with some of your favorite Disney character friends. Seeing them go about their daily routine was rewarding, but holding conversations was especially enjoyable. You don’t have the option to do so every time you interact with them (it seemed like it was only available once a day), but I loved this aspect.
Your choice of response in conversation affects the character’s reactions and increases their friendship level. You unlock more character quests and earn exclusive rewards by raising your friendship level with different characters.
And for all you photogs out there, the camera tool lets you take selfies and other kinds of pictures with your new pals.
Spending Time in Disney Dreamlight Valley
The game’s primary goal is to restore harmony to Dreamlight Valley, but you can spend hours simply “living” in the valley and going about your daily life.
Progress the Story
The game’s plot revolves around a phenomenon called “The Forgetting,” which has stolen precious memories from Disney characters and covered the valley in Night Thorns. The combined effect has turned the world into one giant ghost town full of abandoned buildings and lost souls.
Thankfully, you’ve arrived to save the day. Your character has the magical ability to remove the nasty Night Thorns and to return your friends to their former selves.
The main story plays out through quests. These quests also help open up previously-inaccessible parts of the areas you unlock.
You’ll learn more about the backstory by finding “Memory Shards.” Seemingly left behind by Dreamlight Valley’s previous ruler (who mysteriously vanished), these items are hidden in nooks, crannies, and other places you would not expect. Picking one up will reward you with a torn page of an old journal or a broken piece of a picture.
Everyday Activities
Beyond advancing the overarching plot, there are also simple activities to partake in. After participating in a few tutorials, you’ll have a set of tools: a fishing rod, a shovel, a watering can, a pickaxe, and a camera. They are key parts of many character and story-based quests and help you earn Dreamlight by completing other requirements, which can be found in your menu and when examining a well.
These duties include actions that encourage you to explore aspects of the game, such as “sell [number] of fruit” or “feed [number] animals.” After you reach one goal and redeem it for Dreamlight (which is used to unlock new areas), it is replaced with a new one.
The seemingly endless amount of more minor yet meaningful achievements and tasks to perform proved a good diversion when I wanted a break from the quests linked to the main story.
Limited-Time Events
There is currently a limited-time event called “Pixar Fest,” which includes mini-missions with exclusive rewards. Some of these missions, called “Duties,” and several rewards are hidden behind a paywall called the “Premium Star Path,” which is unlocked with Moonstones, the paid in-game currency. Moonstones are also some of the event’s prizes, so I imagine you could save up enough moonstones from participating in multiple events to unlock these sorts of items in the future.
Here’s a look at the “Duties” section for Pixar Fest. The top row has the first three duties I was tasked with. They cannot be swapped out (they are replaced once completed) but unlocking the “Premium Star Path” adds three different, additional duties to my options, allowing me to earn event currency (Pixar Balls, in this case) much faster.
What are the Selling Points?
Disney Dreamlight Valley may seem a bit simple, but what it gets right, it pulls off masterfully.
An Overall Relaxing and Rewarding Experience
As much as I love a dark and broody RPG, I appreciated that this game never went too heavy on dark, depressing, or otherwise upsetting situations. There were definitely parts that were all sunshine and smiles but it never put me in an emotional state where I feared for the characters’ lives. Just like how some of the animated films from our childhood softened the rough edges of classic fairy tales, one could consider this to be the “Walt Disney version” of a modern video game.
Easter Eggs Everywhere!
Around every turn, there are little touches that Disney fans will appreciate.
Some of these surprises are found when interacting with, or even just being around, the many residents of Dreamlight Valley. For example, near the start of the game, Merlin asks you what the magic words are. Out of the options is “Higgitus Figgitus,” one of the incantations the wizard uses in The Sword in The Stone. And if you select that one, Merlin acts flattered. But some of these Easter eggs are more subtle, like when I caught Goofy whistling “Steamboat Willie” while he was fishing.
Many clothing options and nearly every piece of furniture are a nod to a Disney character or movie.
Disney fans will also recognize some of the food from beloved Disney films.
What’s the Downside?
While my time with Disney Dreamlight Valley was pleasant for the most part, I encountered a few issues.
Stamina Management Disrupts Gameplay Flow
A stamina bar limits the number of actions that utilize the tool wheel (removing night thorns, fishing, mining, etc.) that you can perform in a span of time. Once that bar is depleted, no further actions can be taken, except for the basic ones like talking to characters, buying and selling items, and harvesting full-grown crops. This limitation puts a damper on gameplay flow, especially when you run out in the middle of trying to complete a quest.
Returning to the inside of your home or eating food replenishes the stamina bar. And once fast travel is unlocked early in the story, making the trek back feels slightly less like a chore. However, many free-to-play games (which this title will be once it leaves Early Access sometime in 2023) have a stamina-like system that refills either over time with certain items or paid in-game currency, like the moonstones. I expect the house’s ability to help with this aspect will be removed later. This has not been confirmed, however.
Quests can be Tedious or Difficult to Solve
A few of the quests that the characters tasked me with proved problematic. Some seemed to drag on, like Scrooge McDuck’s quest, which I was tasked with early in the game. It required me to amass 10,000 Star Coins (the standard currency) and took much longer than I would have liked. It was particularly dull because it just needed me to repeat the same steps: acquire items to sell (fish, flowers, crops, cooked food), sell them to Goofy, rinse, and repeat.
And other quests had goals or steps that were unclear. When cooking ratatouille for Remy, all the rat tells you is that it needs an herb a<y lives. And while the majority of the characters sounded at least decent (some, like Merlin, were genuinely outstanding), I found some to be grating and not close to the original voices. And unfortunately, the one that bothered me the most was Scrooge McDuck, who runs the valley’s general store, a location I visited frequently.
Lag in Places
I also experienced a sizable amount of lag when the game loads and while I navigated the menu. This was especially noticeable when I was switching tabs in the menu. I hope that this will be addressed in a future Update Patch.
Bug Issue (But Later Fixed!)
I encountered a bug when exploring Merlin’s home. While there, I opened a chest to reveal a Memory Shard, which unfortunately spawned in an area underneath a piece of furniture (a telescope), making it impossible for me to interact with it and thus retrieve the item.
Fortunately, Gameloft already released one Update Patch fixing several bugs in the game (including the inaccessible item mentioned previously). I take that as a good sign that they will be proactive in improving the gaming experience.
My Final Thoughts on Disney Dreamlight Valley
It may look like the downsides outweigh the selling points regarding Disney Dreamlight Valley, but my overall experience was pleasant. In fact, I found myself losing track of how long my gaming sessions were. I loved interacting with some of my favorite Disney friends in a new way. And the amount of content in this game (and the promise of more in the future) has me excited to spend more time playing. I enjoyed my time with the title and look forward to continuing to play it in the future.
I mentioned that Disney Dreamlight Valley had a flavor akin to Nintendo’s Animal Crossing series. And I believe fans of that series, especially the latest entry, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, will appreciate the level of customization (both your avatar and the world around you) and character interactions. But the heavier emphasis on quests to access different areas may be a turn-off for some. It wasn’t a problem for me, however.
If you are looking for a life simulator with adventure game elements, Disney Dreamlight Valley is a great fit. And I am excited to see what the future holds for this title in upcoming updates, like the addition of the Toy Story realm planned for this later fall.
And Gameloft, if you are reading this, I formally request the addition of Emperor’s New Groove characters!
[This review was written with a sample provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.]
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Let’s Hear from You!
Are you interested in playing Disney Dreamlight Valley? Would you pay for Early Access or wait for the free-to-play global release? And what system would you play it on? Let us know in the comments below!
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