Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay

When Disney’s Dreamlight Valley was announced earlier in 2022 it showed a world where players could interact with some of their favorite animated characters while farming, fishing and other interactions. What immediately came to mind was Nintendo’s Animal Crossing series; and with the ‘Big N’ announcing there would be no more major updates to the latest game, New Horizons after 2021, the timing couldn’t be better for the arrival of something new in the genre.

Queue the choir and behold we have Disney and developer Gameloft ready and willing to fill the void. And while Dreamlight Village and Animal Crossing are no doubt similar the two games couldn’t be more different. For starters Dreamlight Valley is at its heart a Free to Play game; while its initial release is being viewed as an early access period and requires a paid Founders pack. Each of the 3 levels will give players various customization options as well as the paid currency that can be used in game to purchase more things. Even though it’s a F2P game, right now Dreamlight Valley doesn’t beat players over the head with microtransactions. In fact, outside of the battle pass type system that will reward players with various items at this stage of the release I was unable to see anything that really seemed over excessive by the way of these transactions. And honestly battle passes have seemed to permeate every game as of late, that its only a matter of time before real life jobs create them for their employees.

$29.99-$69.99 (early access pack)
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $19.99

In Dreamlight Valley players will create an avatar and meet Merlin; the wizard from the Disney classic ‘Sword in the Stone. He explains to the player that their ruler has left unexpectedly, and a curse has spread across the land. And even with all of Merlin’s great power his magic isn’t enough to break this curse; but of course, the player has the right stuff and with his guidance they’ll begin cleaning up the valley. There is no shortage of activities to pursue while playing Dreamlight Village; the basis of the game is all about friendship and how building those relationships helps bring the valley back to life. Over the course of the adventure players will meet Mickey, Ursula, Moana, and many, many other characters. Players will garden, fish, mine, and forage for various materials throughout the valley. As players take part in these activities, they will earn XP and will level up which increases the stamina bar and unlocks a cosmetic item.

As the player collects these materials from the various activities, they will use the fruits of their labor to partake in other activities that will lead to beneficial boons for them later. Cooking for instance turns ingredients to meals that will buff the player with more stamina, or a better chance to find more items when fishing, or mining. Not only does this help the player but will help the valley as well which is open to be designed to the players hearts content. If you don’t like where Scrooge McDuck’s shop is then players can pick it up and move it, simple as that. Everything in the game has a kind of ‘pick up and play’ type of feel; and that is no doubt because Disney’s Dreamlight Valley is due to release on mobile devices sometime in 2023, which would warrant and easier control scheme. Even with its simplistic approach Disney’s Dreamlight Valley has a very chill vibe to it.After many hours of play I have yet to any combat or anything, nothing stressful or time limits. There are puzzles, which are nice and gives players something to work towards it was never anything that was ‘head-smashingly difficult’ luckily.

For those wondering if there are any Marvel or Star Wars characters right now, I can say based on the week that I have spent with the game I don’t think so. However, Dreamlight Valley is a single-player experience seemingly; I don’t think it would be difficult to add in other properties. This is due to how players meet other characters in the world, once players unlock the castle, they will be presented with a room full of doors. Each of these doors leads to a realm of a character; for instance, I chose Moana’s realm and indeed met her and the demigod Maui. After helping her fix her boat and befriending her I was able to build her a home in the valley and invite her to live with me. But after earning enough of the in-game currency that players will receive from doing most tasks I was able to pay to open another realm with was for Wall-E. So, as I said there are a lot of doors, most don’t have any sort of symbol on them, so I think it’s possible for them to add in some Sith Lords and Masters of Magnetism.

Disney’s Dreamlight Village is not going to be for everyone, in fact a lot of people who may not realize that the game is a F2P experience may be upset upon paying for the founder’s pack. Yes, the game will constantly give the players tasks, and almost any action just as simple as talking to a character will provide progress. But there is nothing in the way of an endgame, the experience is not going to change, the whole of this game is living your best life in the Valley, making friends and cooking with Mickey. Sure, there is a narrative, but it is very light and not necessary as the chill nature of the game is a pleasure in and of itself to play. The classic Disney music ranging from movie themes to the ole “M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E, MICKY MOUSE…” song that I know we all heard as a kid everything about the game just puts you in a good place. Being on Xbox gamepass is great but for anyone else unless you are a Disney/Animal Crossing superfan; I’d maybe hold off until the official Free to play release in 2023. As it stands, even with the cosmetic items; the Founders packs just all feel overpriced for what ultimately amounts to a gameplay experience of a constant list of fetch items with Disney polish.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.