Disney Dreamlight Valley Review

About a year ago, I was lucky enough to get a code for Disney Dreamlight Valley — an adventure life simulation title developed and published by Gameloft. In it, we play as a custom character who joins the ever-growing roster of Disney characters in a magical world where a curse has befallen everyone and made them forget everything, even each other. It is our duty to bring them back home, find them a place in our lands, and befriend them.

To be honest, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the game when I first started playing it — the only thing I was quite certain of was that it was going to fail. Whether it tried to mimic the beloved Animal Crossing franchise and failed or missed the mark like the countless forgotten (hah) Disney games across all the platforms — even mobile — I didn't expect anything but failure. Still, I booted up the game and played through, feeling suspicious at every corner: I expected lootboxes, energy systems, clunky gameplay, horrible dialogue... 

Instead of any of that, I found myself so engrossed in the experience that I've written countless articles and made mentions of the game — an embarrassing amount, really — because I ended up loving it so much! As a fan of Animal Crossing (yes, I've made up with the franchise again), I had been looking for years for something that would offer me that same wonderous spark of creating my own town and filling it with all sorts of beloved characters. And if you're looking for something less relaxing and decorate-y, then stick with me for a bit because there's more to it than that, especially now that the game is out and you can buy A Rift in Time, the first DLC. But for now, I'll stick to the base game, as this is what you'll get for purchasing Disney Dreamlight Valley. 

Since there are several features, I'd like to start off first with decoration. Aside from unravelling the mystery behind The Forgetting (as the curse is called), you can spend countless hours sprucing up your valley with the numerous furniture items available, most of them drawing inspiration from Disney characters and franchises. While there are some locked behind premium currency, there are more available by crafting using the various materials found around the Valley or buying from Scrooge McDuck's store with the in-game currency you can get by selling random stuff. My very first worry was that decorating would be uncomfortable and clunky. While it isn't the best because it doesn't have eight-directional rotation and it's also grided (I cry every time games do this), it's good enough, especially if you've survived decorating in Animal Crossing or Pocket Camp.

Another thing you can spend your time doing is farming for the materials needed to create all sorts of furniture and usable items; the best part is that you can take a villager along with you, meaning you can always be with your favourite Disney character while mining, fishing, foraging, farming, or digging. Doing these activities while being accompanied will net you friendship experience and help you level up with them, unlocking rewards every single level all the way to 10. By the second level, you can give them a hangout bonus, which will give you extra materials whenever they tag along; as an example, if you give Mickey farming and take him along to pick up carrots, he'll drop extra for you, and even more if he's high level and there are others with the same bonus.

This is my favourite feature of the game, as it feels like the characters aren't there just to look pretty and fill up the valley. In fact, taking them along for the adventure isn't the only thing you can do, as they'll each have special friendship quests to unlock that'll give you some quality time with them! Moreover, there are other ways to interact with villagers, such as gifting them, having a daily conversation, or even serving them some food at the restaurant. My only quarrel is that they don't interact with the furniture outside of sitting down on benches and chairs, so placing anything like a Ferris wheel or a pool is kind of sad because it goes untouched and unlooked. It would be nice if I could pass and see them sitting on the picnic blanket at the park, for example, but perhaps this will be added someday.

I have been delighted with what you can unlock by levelling up the characters, and in general, it's nice to see them interact and enjoy the humorous dialogue. Gameloft has done a fantastic job at making the quests everything from lighthearted and hilarious to emotional and touching, and I've genuinely enjoyed experiencing them all. While the base game's budget is noticeable by the lack of animations in many of the quests (it usually fades to a black screen and you have to imagine it), things get better in A Rift in Time, and it really doesn't detract that much from the experience. 

Thankfully, you can take a break from grinding for materials and quests through the Star Path, also known as Disney Dreamlight Valley’s battle pass. Although it’s not necessary to get it, if you do, you’ll be able to unlock numerous items, from motifs you can use to create custom clothes and furniture to decoration items and outfits for the villagers or yourself. This is one of the ways I have remained interested in the game for so long, as it keeps me coming back throughout the months of low content. 

Now, I'm not going to sugarcoat it; the game isn't absolute perfection: it has a lot of bugs, there's content locked behind paywalls, and it can sometimes feel a bit repetitive. Gameloft has gotten into a controversy or two throughout the game's Early Access period due to the numerous in-game purchasable options — the battle pass, the special bundles, the DLC, and the weekly shop — and their decision to make it paid. However, as someone who has somehow sunk nearly 500 hours in the title and whose mother has over 1,000, I think it's safe to say there's an enormous amount of content to sift through, especially if you're only going to pick it up now. Additionally, they've taken steps to make it possible for free-to-play players to save up some premium currency by adding DreamSnaps — a weekly, community-voted competition that can net you a ton of Moonstones (the paid currency). 

That being said, I don't have a problem with paying for content, especially since they've never made it in-your-face — unless you check the shop or Star Path menu, you won't ever see what you're missing out on. Occasionally, There are pop-ups upon booting the game, but I've never felt overwhelmed or annoyed by them. Additionally, there has been a very obvious increase in quality throughout the time, especially in the DLC, where they've incorporated animations and cutscenes. And truth be told, I think Gameloft has done a great job at bringing a magical experience to live through Disney Dreamlight Valley, and I don't mind paying some money to keep it going or make it even better. Even just being able to hear the Disney characters say lines in voices that are so similar to their movie counterparts that I can’t tell if they’re the same actor or not (some are!!!); this sort of effort and quality is what makes the game so worth it. 

Unfortunately, despite all the great features and fun, there is one thing that deeply disappointed me. Whilst I don’t mind paying for content, I did feel very let down when one of the features I was most excited about finally released: multiplayer. As someone who is lucky enough to have a gamer parent, it was very saddening that when we finally got to visit each other’s valleys, we couldn’t do anything at all… not even sprint. You can’t run, fish, mine, farm, cook, eat, talk to villagers… the list of “cant’s” goes on. The only thing you can do is tour the other person’s world, pick up wood and flowers, and look for the recently released multiplayer-exclusive material, Pixel Shards. Although it isn’t the end of the world because I still thoroughly enjoy the rest of the game (particularly the latest expansion), it feels like it was released in a hurry and as a half-thought just to appease an angry community. I genuinely hope that Gameloft makes some improvements in the future, as it would be nice to finish the Star Paths alongside my mom or wife. 

However, one thing I really appreciate about the Disney Dreamlight Valley is that it gets better over time. Looking back at what the game was a year ago, it’s nearly unrecognisable — there has been an effort to improve the existing features and add what the community wants; a lot of it just gets buried under the complaints about the paid content. As an example, in the beginning, there wasn’t a way to sprint, you couldn’t change villagers’ hangout bonus, and the most you could get per day of the premium currency was 50. It’s obvious that the developer does really try to bring quality-of-life changes alongside bigger features, and I have faith that the same will apply to multiplayer.

As someone who can't get past 30 hours in games, it's incredible I'm breaching my 500-hour mark, so it's safe to say I wholeheartedly recommend this game. Whether you're obsessed with Disney and their movies or just like a few franchises here and there, Disney Dreamlight Valley is worth checking out, especially if you're looking for a cosy, relaxing experience.