Disney Dreamlight Valley’s whimsy is offset by the frustrations of time management and a monotonous daily grind.
on March 7, 2024 at 1:35PM PST
I was a bit apprehensive before playing Disney Dreamlight Valley. Although I’ve been a huge fan of Disney’s animated films since I was a kid, developer Gameloft is primarily known for developing mobile titles, some of which have egregious microtransaction systems, such as Disney Magic Kingdoms. After playing Disney Dreamlight Valley for roughly 30 hours, I realized that it wasn’t microtransactions that I had to be concerned about, as there were no paywalls or progress-blocking instances that required me to pay cash. The more prevalent issues with the game were the extremely grindy progression system and restrictions coming from the real-time systems.
Disney Dreamlight Valley begins just as my character was whisked away into a magical fantasy kingdom. Approached by Merlin, it was revealed that a curse known as the Forgetting turned the once-whimsical land into a realm of despair and darkness. Merlin provides a tutorial through the basic mechanics such as removing obstacles called Night Roots and using tools like the pickaxe, shovel, and fishing pole.
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At first, I was worried since regular tasks like mining ores with the pickaxe or removing clumps of roots quickly drained my character’s stamina. My initial concerns were quickly assuaged, as stamina is regularly refilled whenever I leveled up, ate food, or spent just a few seconds in my character’s home.
Needless to say, I was surprised at how player-friendly this mechanic is. From here, the game opens up, as you collect more resources used to craft new items, find ways to decorate the village, and sell materials to earn additional coins. The village itself can be redesigned to your fancy, as you can move around buildings and objects to make way for other structures.
The best part about Disney Dreamlight Valley is its inclusion of fan-favorite characters, along with their respective themes or locations. The initial batch consists of Merlin, Mickey, Goofy, and Scrooge McDuck (Goofy and Scrooge act as vendor NPCs, too), but you soon gain access to the Dream Castle, which has portals that lead to realms populated by other notable characters from Disney and Pixar films. These include Simba, Nala, and Scar (The Lion King); Moana and Maui (Moana); Ariel, Eric, and Ursula (The Little Mermaid); Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf (Frozen); Mirabel (Encanto); and many more.
These short romps have fairly straightforward tasks, such as planting crops in a dried-up oasis to help Nala trap the hyenas, which then led to using the shovel to find bugs that she and Simba could eat. In Moana’s case, you collect resources to repair her boat and then remove obstacles so you can sail to another area together. The vast majority of quests in Disney Dreamlight Valley lean more toward the easy or leisurely side of things, but there were also a few tricky puzzles which I liked.
Completing quests in these mini-realms allows the corresponding characters to be recruited to your village, where they become villagers or potential companions. They also provide a source of additional side quests after befriending them by giving them gifts. For example, after Kristoff moved to the village, I found him in the forest biome where he gave me a quest to rescue Donald Duck in a portal zone.
This gameplay loop–one where you meet characters, max out their friendship levels to unlock new quests, leading you to meet even more characters–kept me engaged. As I ventured forth into certain areas, I also wanted to tackle the tasks therein, and perhaps gain new villagers or companions along the way. My village, once a rundown and cursed place, eventually became a busy locale, full of people just milling about and interacting with one another. Interactions that added to the ambience and atmosphere also happened regularly. For example, characters like Ursula and Ariel might show up while I was fishing, or Simba and Nala might play around only for Merlin to scold them. These ambient interactions also include photo mode, which causes characters to pose for selfies. There truly were moments in Disney Dreamlight Valley that gave me a sense of wonderment as I recalled my younger days of first seeing some of these characters, thinking of what it’d be like if they were all in the same place.
Regrettably, Disney Dreamlight Valley is plagued with some basic impediments. Most importantly, the progression system involving the unlocking of domains and characters, along with quest completion, is rather obtuse and bewildering. This is further exacerbated by the unlocking process for domains and biomes, which largely depends on a unique currency known as Dreamlight. This currency is primarily obtained through executing general tasks specified in a panel. Some examples are: mining a specific quantity of rocks/ores in a given biome, preparing a certain amount of meals, giving gifts, adding decorations in a specified biome, catching, preparing, and selling various types of fish (sometimes in a certain biome), purchasing and planting specific seeds (and subsequently harvesting them), among others.
I recollect how I accumulated a lot of Dreamlight in order to unlock a new domain in the castle. Each biome and domain has its individual Dreamlight requirement. However, I decided to focus my resources on the slightly costlier Frozen Realm. After meeting Elsa and Anna, I assumed I would quickly complete my objectives. Much to my dismay, I discovered I needed Iron Ore to advance. Coincidentally, Iron Ore was only available in other biomes in the village that I had yet to unlock. This implied that I had to repeat the previous collection and mining tasks in order to amass more currency.
This tick-box method transformed what should have been a terrific journey into tedious labour. There’s no rigid approach to progression, except there is indeed an optimal one. One small error – unlocking domains in the incorrect sequence – turned my laid-back playthrough into a routine grind. I constantly found myself referring to the Dreamlight panel to ensure I was still obtaining as much currency as possible. In some cases, I mistakenly used a material needed for a certain task or craftable item, oblivious to the fact that it was also required for various quests. Now, progress is obstructed by something unavoidable – time.
The in-game time in Disney Dreamlight Valley corresponds with your local real-world time. Certain crops necessitate repeated watering and can only be harvested after a certain period of time. Additionally, you might deplete a specific resource, only to discover that these resources don’t regenerate until later.
Worse, characters follow a specific schedule. They might be seen wandering the village, providing opportunities for conversation, gift giving, quest completion, or invitation to join you, resulting in bonuses related to allocated tasks. However, if they’re at rest, your only option is to wait, as time cannot be fast-forwarded in-game. Modifying your system time can have detrimental consequences, like disappearing mineral/resource nodes.
There were moments when I could only play late night, and the NPCs I wanted to engage with were unavailable due to their pre-set schedules. While this brought a real-world element to the village, it was absurd that I had to adjust my timetable because Buzz Lightyear and Mirabel are asleep from 10 PM. to 2 AM. These limitations hindered my overall campaign progression and enjoyment.
Still, Disney Dreamlight Valley managed to entrance me with its charming roster of characters and their magical domains. The soothing life-sim theme lets you leisurely collect, farm, and construct. Regrettably, I also was let down by the choice of a real-time sync feature and an ambiguous advancement route, amplified by redundant tasks. The quests are not skill-based; instead, they test patience. Any mistake made during the unlocking of biomes or expenditure of materials can be downright aggravating. Here, two concepts collide: the delightful and fantastical themes that ignite your inner child’s joy and the monotonous daily existence as an adult beset by time management frustrations.
