10 Aug Dreamlight Valley Game Review

I may never finish Horizon Forbidden West. There are two reasons for that. The first and most relevant reason is that I started playing Dreamlight Valley. But I’m also stuck in that last cauldron that I can’t seem to fight my way out of. It’s a bit annoying – like I lost my Horizon-mojo. So I put that game away for a minute and started looking for something else to play while I prepared mentally to get back to Aloy.

“You can beat this,” Hubs reassured me, “I believe in you.” And while I love that he is my number one cheerleader in all things gaming, he also understands when you just need a break from a game. So he mentioned Dreamlight Valley and thought it would be right up my alley.

I swear that was not intentional!

Either way, the Playstation Store had a 2-hour demo, so I decided to download it and try it out. I mean, what did I have to lose? At least I wouldn’t have to deal with a deadly machine intent on seeing my Aloy dead.

Two things happened as I sat down and started the game. It’s better if you read it in hubs’ own words: 

“I knew you were hooked when you sat down to play and I didn’t hear a peep out of you for two hours. I also knew you were sold when the two-hours were up and you said, ‘awww, two hours is up already?’ and I said, ‘just buy the game’.”

First of all, hubs, mind your business and stop acting like you know me!

Sorry, that was rude.

But he was right. It took less than two hours and I knew this was going to be my replacement for Grow: Song of the Evertree. It scratched all the itches – even the ones I didn’t know I had. Needless to say, I’ve been playing it ever since. Almost daily. Again, ask me if I’ve finished my DragonCon cosplays. Fall decor. Any adulting?

No. No I haven’t. 

About Dreamlight Valley

“Disney Dreamlight Valley is a hybrid between a life-sim and an adventure game rich with quests, exploration, and engaging activities featuring Disney and Pixar friends, both old and new.”

It’s like the perfect combination between town-building, simulator, exploration and adventure, and also getting to be around some of your favorite Disney characters. And I’m not even going to pretend that I don’t get excited every time I see Mirabel dancing through the village! lol

The only other game that scratches these itches for me is Grow: Song of the Evertree. But Evertree drops the ball at continuing the storylines. This is after it introduces you to characters and forces you to have useless dialogue and interaction with them. The problem with that is you never complete or resolve those plots; and then you never interact with the characters again. Oh, and fixing the many bugs.

But Dreamlight Valley has many parallel plot lines with all the characters. It makes the game feel like you’re part of an intentional and meaningful story. You feel like you actually accomplished something:

“Once an idyllic land, Dreamlight Valley was a place where Disney and Pixar characters lived in harmony — until the Forgetting. Night Thorns grew across the land and severed the wonderful memories tied to this magical place. With nowhere else to go, the hopeless inhabitants of Dreamlight Valley retreated behind locked doors in the Dream Castle.”

Your whole deal is helping the Valley. And you find out some surprises along the way that make moving the story forward a joy. Gameloft really published an awesome game; it’s like living in your own Disney movie:

“…it’s up to you to discover the stories of this world and bring the magic back to Dreamlight Valley!”

Game Packs

The game genres are Simulation, Adventure, Action, and Role-Playing. Its rating is ‘Everyone’ and only requires 1 player. Dreamlight Valley is currently in early access mode. This means that you can be one of the first to play this game with the purchase of a Founder’s Pack. With this purchase of one of the editions (see pricing information below), you receive various exclusive cosmetic rewards. They plan to make the game free to play sometime this year (2023). Then these rewards will no longer be available for purchase or as part of the free-to-play game. 

In addition to early access to Disney Dreamlight Valley, purchasing one of the Founder’s packs will give you: “…free regular game updates, a large value of in-game Moonstone currency, and exclusive items such as special animal companions, clothing, decorations, and motifs that will be available exclusively as part of the Founder’s Pack Editions. All items purchased as part of the Founder’s Pack Editions will be kept once the game goes free-to-play in 2023.” You can read more about the packs and prizes on the Gameloft FAQ page.

My Gameplay

Initially I played a little over 10 hours of this game in order to give this review.

I want to stop here to state that I was not asked to give this review by Disney, Gameloft, or any other company. I give this review for my readers – to help you discover a new game to love. So if anyone enjoys these types of games like I do, you can read an honest and unaffiliated review, here. That’s my disclaimer.

So the plan was to stop playing at 10 hours and write this review. That was a little over a week ago. I’m now 50 hours into the gameplay and still discovering things I want to share with you.

Or maybe I’m just playing because I’m completely addicted to this game. Maybe I can’t stop thinking about my next quest and character reveal.

Don’t judge me. This was all for you.

Pay-to-Play

I purchased this game to play on my PlayStation 5. Dreamlight Valley is available on the Microsoft Store, X-Box, Switch, Epic Game Store, Steam, PlayStation, and the Apple App Store.

The price to purchase this game is $29.99. There is a deluxe version ($49.99) and an ultimate edition ($69.99). I will admit, I was tempted to purchase the ultimate edition, but the way my bank account was set up at the time… And also, I wanted to just try the game first. Since then I have seriously contemplated purchasing the Ultimate Edition and tried to upgrade my current edition. The PlayStation store only allows you to purchase the new edition as a separate purchase – no credit applied for already owning the base game. 

I then went down a rabbit-hole trying to find out if my original gameplay would continue where I left off if I did purchase the ultimate edition. Would I have to start over with a new avatar and a new game? I don’t want to do that, and I couldn’t find this specific answer online. So I reached out to Gameloft to ask them directly. They responded right away (impressive!) to say that no, you cannot purchase the ultimate founder’s pack and have it apply to your current game save. You just need to know which pack you want before you purchase it.

Of course I have regrets. But mostly I think I’m just suffering from FOMO (fear of missing out).

Either way, I am well into the game with no intention of stopping and no sense of boredom in sight.

Why Review this Game?

Well, this is a geeky blog where I literally inspire and highly encourage you all to geek out over all the things you love. Gaming is one of those things. So reviewing games will help you, my readers, find games you love! If you like this review and it helps you make a decision about whether or not to purchase the game, please let me know! I would love to hear how you like it.

I won’t always admit it, but I love the Disney animated stories – especially the newest characters and movies. And I just loved the idea of getting lost in a Disney game with many of those characters. Hubs and I tried Disney Infinity a few years ago and just couldn’t get into it, so I was hoping this would be different. It is, in fact, very, very different! In a good way.

Dreamlight Valley was released September 6, 2022, in Early Access on PC and Console. So as of this initial review (August 2023), the game is not quite a year old. There is news that the game will switch to free-to-play gameplay sometime this year, so those of us who purchased a Founder’s Pack will get to keep the perks. Besides that, however, there is no improved gameplay or additional powers that someone who paid for the game will receive over someone who downloads the free version.

That means that if you prefer to wait, you will eventually be able to download this game for free. Think Fortnite-free-to-download with in-game purchases and a Battle Pass. Dreamlight Valley will be a lot like that in the future.

Similar games

If I were to compare this game to any other game that I’ve played, it would be Grow: Song of the Evertree. I have played that game for many, many (six-hundreds-of) hours because it is exactly what I needed at the time. It was a part of my daily self-care routine after a rough day at work, as well as a staple in my weekend  morning routine. 

For me to get into a game, it can’t just contain only endless, useless tasks. There has to be a story line, a purpose, a reason for me to do what I’m doing. Although I loved the gardening and world-building aspect of Grow, it was lacking in plot, character, and story development. I continued playing it despite many of the gameplay challenges and lack of development because it really was a great mental escape for me. Don’t be fooled by the amazing webpage. They are no longer making updates or developing this game. And that’s really too bad – there is so much untapped potential there.

With Dreamlight Valley, I get the same gardening and world-building vibes. But there is also a story progression that makes sense and allows me to feel like I’m accomplishing something as I play. Plus, I have complete control over my Valley and can decorate as I see fit. I also get to hang out with Disney characters that I know and am familiar with, which is a huge plus.

The Problem with comparing video games

I don’t want to throw Grow to the wolves, though. At the time, I got what I needed from Grow – I mean, I played it for many, many hours, after all. But there was always a desire for more, and I’m getting that with Dreamlight Valley. So it makes it really hard to even think about going back to play Grow because, well, I just don’t want to anymore. Or I should probably say I don’t need it anymore. I got more out of Grow than one player should and it really did help me at the time. But I feel like Dreamlight Valley is definitely the next step up.

(I almost feel as if I’m not being fair to Grow, here. Gameloft has Disney, and Disney has so much more intellectual property and already established lore available for use in the game. They didn’t have to create a world from scratch and then work to get players acquainted with them. All the existing backstories have already been created. Most of us are familiar with most of the characters. In that aspect, Grow nailed it. They gave us something new. So while there’s almost no comparison in that sense, they produced a similar game in a similar genre. That’s where I draw my seemingly skewed comparison.

Additionally, Gameloft is a bigger studio than Prideful Sloth with probably more resources and staff to work with. Grow had a ton of bugs, which sucked for the gameplay experience. But Prideful Sloth is a smaller studio which brings many more challenges when it comes to keeping up with an open world game. This is compared to a bigger studio who can borrow resources from a powerhouse like Disney. Gameloft has also made other Disney titles. So there is no fair comparison when you’re comparing a mom and pop shop against a Walmart or a Publix.)

Is Dreamlight Valley a cozy game?

I would definitely describe Dreamlight Valley as a “cozy game”. 

What is a Cozy Game?

A cozy game is one that allows you to get all comfortable and play a light non-violent game. Usually it includes lots of cute characters and task-driven goals. When I want to play a cozy game, I sink into my couch with my blanket and tea, turn the lights down, and settle in for a mental break. I also find myself smiling and humming to myself.

Games Industry defines cozy games like this: “…cozy games are generally regarded as featuring cute characters, often anthropomorphic animals or child-like humans, who engage in player activities such as farming, gathering, growing and nurturing, with a vague goal of creative personalization and in-game socialization. But coziness is broader than farming and village-planning. The essential nature of cozy gaming is that of helping other people through non-violent means, often by nurture and generosity. Self-expression is core to the games’ progression goals, which tend to be open-ended.”

I have to add here that the reason I enjoy certain genres over others is because I love getting lost in games that allow me to escape to other worlds. For me, gaming is a mental escape and a way to challenge myself. I probably won’t play a game that is too close to real life because I don’t want to escape to reality. I want to escape to a place that makes me happy and makes me feel safe. I’m not against exploring different types of genres, but this is why I prefer this one.

What caught my attention about this game?

I’d seen it on line and on social media for a while and was curious about it. Anytime I see a Disney character I’m like ‘oooh! What’s going on?’ – and they just look so charming in the images online. This was labeled as a cozy game online, and at the time I was looking for a cozy game, so it worked out brilliantly. It just checked all my boxes and checked even more as I was playing the game.

Dreamlight Valley Game Review: Gameplay

This is a **no spoiler* review.

Entering Your World

Once you enter into the gameplay experience, you begin your journey to finding out how to bring the Valley back and the characters who once inhabited the area. As you progress, you meet characters, you speak with characters and form relationships with the characters. These relationships, or friendships, help to give you hints as to what’s going on in your Valley and why things are the way they are. You will be asked to perform various tasks to help the characters, and you’ll unlock quests and more characters to add to the overall story progression. There is a tiny bit of a mystery that involves how you ended up in Dreamlight Valley, so you’ll move through a series of hints and tasks to get you the answers you seek.

Your Avatar

So the first thing you see when you enter that game is your Avatar preset. You can edit your avatar to your heart’s desire. And let me tell you, I spent almost a full hour of my free two-hour demo just customizing my avatar. There are so many choices, and you’re never sure when you go into a game whether or not you’ll be able to edit or customize your avatar later on. So if you’re anything like me, you really want to make your avatar perfect. Afterall, it’s a mini-representation of you! 

I was pleasantly surprised at the diverse options for your avatar. Currently, you can customize the eye color and shape, eyeshadow color and opacity, the brow shape and color, the nose, the mouth and lipstick color, the jaw shape, blush, freckles and birthmarks, the hairstyle and hair color, the body type and shape, the face paint, and the facial hair. Then you pick a name and you’re ready to go!

I hope that as they continue to improve the game, they add even more options for even more inclusion. For example, a wheelchair option, or prosthetics. Maybe hearing aids, different body heights, braces, things like that. Of course that list could on for-literal-ever. Being inclusive is intentional and takes time.

The clothing options are a ton of fun. Remember that I’m playing the Founder’s Edition, so I’m unsure if these choices will all still be available when the game becomes free-to-play. Specifically, you can customize certain garments with whatever colors you want, as well as designs and patterns from motifs provided by the game.

You can also customize your avatar on your PC, which gives you even more options than the console. Then you can import that avatar (only once) to your console game via a special one-time code. It will import the hair, and outfit, as well. 

The Story

So now that you’ve customized your avatar, the story begins. You leave your home behind and eventually end up in Dreamlight Valley. I don’t want to spoil the beginning for you, but you will wake up and meet up with Merlin. This is where your adventure begins. You are the hero and you have to help save the Valley. Merlin explains everything as you converse with him, and then you’re ready to get started. After a brief tutorial, you begin your first quest: “Welcome to Dreamlight Valley”. After that you’re on your own to progress the story with help from the characters as you meet them.

Some Specifics About Dreamlight Valley

Replay Value

I think this has great potential for a replay.  I played it again after just 48 hours because I wanted to play in my regular account and begin the game in review mode. But I bet that there will be no shortage of things to do for a while. The potential to keep adding characters and environments is huge and means that we could have updates for years.

Sound

The sound is perfect, the music is great, and I wish they had the official Disney Dreamlight Valley soundtrack on Spotify (hint*hint, Disney!). I love the sound effects and the voices of the characters and their personalities. There is a unique feature for each character that you may recognize from a movie or show, and I find that so endearing. Mostly. There is one character that I wouldn’t miss because he’s kind of annoying. But most people probably love him.

Graphics

OMG this is such a beautiful game! I would describe it as bright and happy. Even if it rains in-game, it’s still bright and the colors are vivid and clear. Every aspect of the environment is just gorgeous, and, without spoiling, you get a variety of environments and areas to enjoy. Your characters are known for their particular worlds, and I think Dreamlight Valley does an excellent job of recreating those worlds for the player and for the purpose of the story. It makes you wonder if every Disney character has a potential for a cameo in this game, and if so, do we also get their worlds? So, yeah, I have no complaints about the graphics. Like at all. 

Gameplay

The gameplay is smooth and easy to learn. The buttons and their functions all make sense and Gameloft uses common button-play. I say this because I’ve played games where the developers change button functions so that if you’re used to jumping with X, for example, they change it to O. That always leaves me so confused and it’s hard to fully immerse myself into a game when I’m having to constantly think about which buttons to press or killing myself because the buttons have been rearranged for no good reason. There is no steep learning curve with this game, which allows you to jump right into the game with no problems.

Issues

I haven’t encountered many issues. If I have a question about something, I look it up online and the answers have always been there. One example is fridge storage: if you put a fridge in your home, you won’t be able to store anything in it until you save and completely exit the game, and then go back in. It’s kind of a pain, but that’s the bug for now. They may fix it later on, so keep track of those updates and be sure to know where to find information in the game itself. A lot of the time, the game will provide the knowledge base in the game so you have to find it and use it to help you progress.

If there is one thing I would change in Dreamlight Valley, it’s what happens to items when they drop on the ground. In Grow, once you break through thorns, break blocks, or open something, after the initial tutorial period, those items are drawn to you so you don’t have to chase them all over the area. In Dreamlight, items are strewn all over the place, so I waste precious gametime chasing items for my inventory. I truly hate chasing items all over the place, so if items could “magically” come to me I could move more efficiently as I played. It’s definitely not a deal-breaker, though.

Things I Love

What I love about this game is the potential for growth and long-term gameplay. I mean, think about it – Disney is always coming up with new characters and new stories. As long as we always have new stories, there is potential for growth  –  new characters, new updates – which means game longevity. Unlike Grow, Disney’s Dreamlight has the potential for new updates and additions to this game.

Another thing I love love love is that I can rearrange and edit the town to my liking. Dreamlight Valley gives you full control over how you can arrange your Village and your home, and this is something I have not yet seen to this extent in any game. It’s a designer-wannabe’s greatest desire come to real-game-life! Please keep this aspect of the game because it brings my SIMS-builder-heart  the most satisfaction! This scratches that box with even more flexibility! This is such a cool aspect of this game! I feel like I have “unlimited power!” (you knew a Star Wars reference was coming.)

Things I Would Change

I think the most exciting part is unlocking new characters and environments as you progress through the story. There isn’t really a boring part, per say, but I recently discovered that once you reach a certain level, the game starts to get a bit “grindy” in its requirements. So what took you just a day or less to accomplish at the beginning of the game now takes more time to complete. Forty-eight hours in, and it seems like the characters require more and more items that are not so readily available. So you have to search, obtain, and wander the village for a long time until things respawn. Sometimes you even have to wait an entire day before you can move forward in a quest. 

I’ll be honest – this is something that frustrates me in a lot of games. I like consistency. I have no need to prove how great a gamer I am, or how fast I can solve a puzzle. In the precious time I have to play a game, I want to progress in a way that makes sense to the story and to my time. If the time it takes to progress a story becomes exaggerated, I become frustrated and eventually bored. That’s what happened to me in Animal Crossing. In fact, I think I’m the only person in the entire world who really disliked that game.

Another thing that gets repetitive in Dreamlight Valley, is having to spend time with a character in order to level them up. Of course, as the level gets higher, it takes a longer time to increase the level of the character. I’m sure this is intentional. With this game, however, it seems like that time is tripled and you run out of things to do with the character. This means that you have to continue the quest the next day and you lose your progress for that game period. Again, I play games to feel like I’ve accomplished something, so if Gameloft or Disney focused less time on trying to keep the player grinding in order to increase playtime, and more time on developing new characters and environments so the time spent in game happened naturally and didn’t feel forced, I think the potential for long-term gamers would be greater.

I do realize that I am not a game developer. I don’t have a full understanding of the hard work and person-power that it takes to create, update, and perfect a game of this magnitude. It has to be an immense undertaking, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Add a martini, and send a cheers to those who spent the time creating this game concept. And the artists who make it beautiful. I never want my opinions to take away from the work that goes into creating a game. I have a ton of respect for those who develop our games.

Dreamlight Valley Game Review: final thoughts

All in all, I truly love this game and I can see myself playing for a long time. I find that I’m excited for the end of the day when I can reward myself with time in-game. And I can’t wait to meet the new characters and unlock new worlds. This ultimate cozy game is truly a gem and I’m so glad I discovered it during this early access period. The positives far outweigh any small issues, and I believe Gameloft and Disney created a near-perfect game.

If all these things seem appealing to you and you love simulation, adventure, and role-playing then you will adore this familiar cozy game.

If you try it, or have already played, let me know what you think below!