Disney and GameLoft released a new life simulator game featuring some of our favorite Disney and Pixar characters—both old and new. The game is set to be a free-to-play title in 2023.
Early Access for Disney Dreamlight Valley is now available starting September 6 across all supported platforms including PC, Mac, Nintendo Switch™, PlayStation®5 (PS5™), PlayStation®4 (PS4™), Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox One consoles. PC and Mac versions will be released on Steam, Epic Games Store, Microsoft Store, and the Mac App Store.
I only found out about this game through a similar Kickstarter game I backed, PuffPals Island Skies. PufPals had an ad on Facebook and while reading the comments, I chanced upon a suggestion to check out Disney Dreamlight Valley while waiting for PuffPals’ release.
I’ve been addicted since.
Disney Dreamlight Valley is similar to some of our favorite games like Stardew Valley, Story of Seasons, My Time at Portia, Animal Crossing, and Sims. They are simulation games that lets players build a life however they wish. Dreamlight Valley follows a storyline where you drift to sleep and find yourself in a magical valley and an incident called the Forgetting, where the Disney and Pixar characters in the game lose their memories.
Disney Dreamlight Valley has a similar playstyle to Animal Crossing, which was one of the games I was definitely hooked with during the start of the pandemic. The idea of the game is that while you help restore the village from the Forgetting, you live alongside the villagers who were plucked from our favorite Disney and Pixar shows.
With features like fishing, gardening, mining, outdoor and interior decorating, and a lot more activities, Disney Dreamlight Valley will feel familiar to Animal Crossing fans. There are also tasks to complete called Dreamlight Duties similar to the Nook Miles Program. You can also unlock new biomes or areas in the game as well as new characters from your beloved movies.
Having only played Animal Crossing: New Horizon and a little bit of the different simulation games under Sims, I didn’t have a lot of exposure to the different playstyles and game features. But what I love the best about games like Disney Dreamlight Valley is you can go at your own pace and play it how you want.
My personal favorite feature in Disney Dreamlight Valley though is how easy it is to decorate outdoors!! There’s a whole interface and unlimited landscaping items like trees and bushes. And there’s UNDO with one click!! Not having this option was one of the things that annoyed me (and later on made me quit) when I was playing ACNH.
So far in the early access of Disney Dreamlight Valley, you can only unlock 17 characters in the game: Goofy, Merlin, Mickey, Minnie, Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Wall-E, Moana, Maui, Ursula, Ariel, Prince Eric, Mother Grothel, and Remy. New characters and biomes are in the pipeline!
There are a few glitches still in the game, but it’s definitely nothing that makes playing less fun, at least from my experience. The developers are also religious with listening and patching bugs and fixes.
Right now, aside from some quality of life improvements, I’m hoping they’ll add multiplayer function where you can do activities together or visit each other’s Dreamlight Valley!
Disney Dreamlight Valley has been promising so far. I personally got the game from Steam for ₱649.95. But you can definitely avail of bigger packages to get exclusive clothing and furniture. I decided to go for the cheapest one since I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it. There’s no way to upgrade though so I suggest checking out playthroughs on YouTube so you can decide if you want to get the more expensive packages!
Life and Lemons 