First Look: Disney Dreamlight Valley

Disney brings us an open-world adventure life sim with their new game Disney Dreamlight Valley. Since it was described as an Animal Crossing with Disney characters, I decided to give it a go, and here are my initial thoughts on the game.

In Disney Dreamlight Valley, you create an avatar and get transported to a strange location, called Dreamlight Valley, which is infested with dark magic, enchanted thorns blocking locations, and a power that causes the villagers to forget. You possess your own powerful magic and are deemed the only one that can save the valley from the mysterious state it is in.

Disney Dreamlight Valley is so much more than what Tom Nook asks of you.

In order to save the valley, you will need to help the villagers with different quests which can consist of finding specific tools to completing specific tasks that involve gathering items and crafting, gifting items to the villagers to grow your friendship, or traversing different realms to bring villagers back to the valley. Much like in Animal Crossing, you’ll need to farm, dig, fish, and find items to help you on your way. You can also customize your home and attire like in Animal Crossing. But Disney Dreamlight Valley is so much more than what Tom Nook asks of you.

Once you get really into the game you will see just how massive it is. There is a clear story to follow involving discovering why the valley was overtaken by dark magic and ultimately returning the place to its former glory, but there are also many side quests given by the villagers plus smaller achievements to gain Dreamlight which will help expand the valley so you can truly save it all. You always have something to do so it is easy to spend hours and hours playing the game.

This game is currently in early access, and I am not exactly certain what that means for this particular game because it seems very polished already. I have had a couple of instances where I was uncertain of what exactly to do to accomplish a goal because the wording wasn’t the clearest, as well as doing certain actions that then prevents me from completing a quest for a long while. But nothing has been so bad that I haven’t been able to progress at all.

The only other thing I have found odd is sometimes the characters stand frozen in some places and it can be a little creepy, especially Mickey Mouse. Sometimes I wonder if they are bugged but no, sometimes they just stand still with mildly creepy smiles, and sometimes they are standing right outside your house. So I guess we can add jumpscares to the tags for this game.

Overall, I have enjoyed playing Disney Dreamlight Valley quite a bit. It is wonderfully magical, full of Disney charm for fans, and plays like a full release despite being in early access. I look forward to playing more, which I’m planning to do once I finish writing this post.

What Disney character would you want to become friends with? Let me know with a comment!