How Disney Dreamlight Valley Ruined Animal Crossing For Me

Spoiler warning: My article contains images of Disney Dreamlight Valley that show the end of the game. Please read with caution!

I have officially hit over 300 hours in Disney Dreamlight Valley, which is a huge milestone for me as I barely get to 30 hours, let alone 100, in most titles! Although I've obviously been enjoying it, I hadn't quite fathomed just how much until I attempted to go back to one of my favourite mobile titles, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.

It's safe to say that I probably have more than 300 hours in that one, too, as during COVID, one of the activities that kept me afloat was just decorating for hours on end or farming Leaf Tickets to get even more furniture. Pocket Camp gave me a lot of what I desperately wanted from the mainline Animal Crossing titles: several goals to keep me from stagnating too soon and no punishment for sudden hiatuses. Of course, despite having that, I've always had an on-and-off relationship with the game ever since it came out back in 2017.

Now that I finally have access to an Android device that can handle the game again, I tried to dive back in as I always do... except this time, something was different. After dusting off all my Halloween furniture and sprucing up my camp a couple of months too early, I finished the daily Happy Home Designer, sent off Gulliver, and finished requests... and then that was it. There was nothing to decorate, no achievable goals, and no simple but fun tasks to complete. I was done for the next three hours after about 10 minutes (at most).

Now, don't get me wrong: I know that's always been the game's loop — you come back every new rotation, complete the requests, finish event goals, and then decorate; you can't expect much more from a Nintendo mobile game (because let's be honest, you can expect it from others). The problem was that the emptiness made me realise I missed Disney’s Dreamlight Valley, and if I was going to sit here and play the same old gameplay loop I've had for five years, I might as well go back to my Valley.

I'm not going to sit here and say Gameloft is a flawless developer: they've made some poor decisions throughout the game's Early Access, some small and some big, like a premium shop that felt a bit too predatory with its villainous prices. But one thing that they excel at that Nintendo doesn't is that they've innovated and capitalised on the laziness and stagnation of the Animal Crossing franchise. 

Throughout all my years with Nintendo, I dreamt of a lot of upgrades the franchise could have: more interaction with the cute villagers, better decoration, improved dialogue and personalities, sleeves for their shirts… but despite how wild my mind could run, what I have found in Disney Dreamlight Valley has surpassed any expectation and hope I have ever had. 

There’s an enormous amount of activities to do in Disney Dreamlight Valley — you can decorate, unravel questlines, farm, go shopping, complete the collections, finish the Battle Pass, etc... the options are varied, especially whenever a fresh new Star Path is bursting with new furniture and clothes for you to nab. But I think the most important thing to me is the amount of charm and personality all of these tasks have; whether I’m trying to cook a meal or decorating, there’s so much nostalgia, so many vibrant colours, so much humour that it engulfs me. It makes me feel at ease and satisfied.

Aside from the accidental wonders it’s brought (such as giving me a reason to revisit all the movies), I’ve lost count of how many hours I’ve spent delighted hanging out with the newest characters and spending time with them to reach max friendship. And whenever I’m not just passing the time with villagers and finding new love for them, I’m watching interesting questlines unravel and becoming part of their universe. The characters, world, and stories feel alive in a way that not even New Horizons does; in fact, if anything, it feels so much more lifeless now.

My love for Animal Crossing has always been inconsistent: it's a game that I have unfortunately craved since the second I got to play it, but every time I jump in, I leave disappointed. And although I've always hoped someone would come along with a better game or Nintendo would wake up and actually put effort into the franchise, it's a bit sad now that it's happened. And whilst I don't think I'll be able to spark my love and interest back for it ever again, I'll choose to be grateful for the effort that Gameloft has made.