Disney Dreamlight Valley Is Impressively Good (Though Not Perfect)

I’m embarrassed to say that I love Disney Dreamlight Valley, out now in Early Access. It is certainly the least cool new game I’ll play all year (as compared to indie darlings NORCO and Citizen Sleeper, for example). But it’s a delight nonetheless, partially because it’s easy to play, and just as easy to enjoy.

Not that easy means boring—far from it. Dreamlight Valley features many flagship elements of farming town simulators, with crops to grow, flowers to gather, quests to follow, and buildings to improve. Disney Dreamlight Valley is a great choice for anyone who wants a cozy game, is new to gaming, and/or is a casual or diehard Disney adult.

A Strong Contender in the Farming Sim Genre

People have been quick to compare Dreamlight Valley to Stardew Valley (the title similarity alone is cause for a raised eyebrow). But the reality is, ConcernedApe’s mega-popular game took heavy inspiration itself from the long-standing Harvest Moon series. Stardew Valley has maintained impressive staying power since its launch in 2016, partially because of the solo developer’s commitment to rolling out patches, ports, and new content. Farming titles as whole have been on the rise with games Ooblets (which I loved in early access), Cozy Grove, and this whole list of farming sims coming out in the next year on Switch alone.

In many ways, Disney Dreamlight Valley (or DDV, as it’s known in the fandom) shares bones with all the standard farming games. There are two significant differences that make it stand out:

First, DDV has a significant advantage over another longtime cozy stalwart, Animal Crossing. Because while DDV, like Animal Crossing, is also aligned to the player’s real-time sunrises and sunsets, DDV does not limit the player to day-oriented cycles around refreshes. What that means is that, hey, if you want to go harvest 100 apples today, you certainly can. Items grow or respawn at a manageable pace that make it easy to stay in game for hours.

Secondly, where Disney Dreamlight Valley differs most from its farming competitors is its focus on making your life easy—via a touch of that Disney magic. You can easily water multiple crops at one time, or speedily replant seeds en masse. Even ridding the world of evil cursed thorns happens with one quick click and a wave of your character’s hands.

Furthermore, you can ask one of your Disney companions to help you out, and even give them a specialty focus in areas like gardening or mining. Building friendships with those characters is a central component of the game, and the game rewards you with friendship points for doing simple tasks (like gathering raspberries) with specific friends (like Elsa). There’s even a fishing mini-game, because of course there is—but when you bring along a great fisherman like Goofy, you get double the fish!

The companions turn what is honestly an often boring core (chore) mechanic in farming games into a purple-and-pink sparkled delight where everything moves forward at once, making it easy to want to stay in the world and propel yourself forward.

Beside from the base Mickey Mouse & Co. group, most characters in DDV (as it’s known in the fandom) have to be recruited to come to the Valley. After completing simple (though thoughtfully franchise-inspired quests) to invite each character to come to the Valley, each character has a 10-levels of affection where different quests are unlocked at different stages. There is also an overarching story about the struggles of growing up, loneliness, and self-doubt. But the best part of all? There’s no pressure or rush to do anything, ever.

Home Is Where the Heart Is

By introducing beloved characters from different franchises in a new setting, Disney Dreamlight Valley invites players to feel at home from the first moments.

I was absolutely delighted by the chance to work on a restaurant with Remy from one of my favorite films, Ratatouille. One day, Mickey asks how I’m doing, and I admit that I’m having a hard time—he lets me know that it’s okay to have bad days, and that tomorrow is a new day. It genuinely made me feel better. When Wall-E asks if we can garden together (through beeps and boops), I clicked yes so freaking fast. When Merlin showed me a whole castle of realms I was going to visit, I was wowed.

This is where Disney truly shows its mega purchasing power. The game gently reveals more and more of the world, letting you know that you’ll be able to enjoy and build in this world for many hours to come. When I ask Woody to come mining with me, I hear the plucky strains of “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” in the background. A portal in a castle lets me know I can soon invite Stitch to join me. Disney has seemingly unlimited development resources, and countless beloved franchises. For $30 (as of writing), the game is a bargain in what is officially becoming a $70 landscape.

Disney Dreamlight Valley has a little bit of everything to make a blockbuster farming hit. For the makers out there, there’s a sweet character creator combined with a shockingly detailed custom clothing creator (making it probably a back door candidate for one of the best fashion games on the Switch). Plus, unbarred home décor and city improvement mechanics! The graphics are impressive even on the Switch (the platform I played on) given the world size. There are a few bugs here and there, but nothing a quit and restart doesn’t fix.

While it’s not the most innovative game out there, it’s certainly one of the coziest.

These Are Strings, Pinocchio

I write to you from June 2024, almost two years after first writing my review. I have gone through periods of intense DDV binge-ing, when my life has been really, really rough, and all I wanted (nay, needed) was something kind and orderly to focus on. I have also gone through periods where I don’t even think about DDV, or if I do, it’s with a kind of relief.

As DDV‘s development cycle has gone on, it’s hit a few rough patches. The game was initially intended to be released for free to all, with add-on packages. To what should be no one’s surprise, the development company, Gameloft Montreal, reversed that decision. At first, Gameloft promised to only keep cosmetic choices (new outfits, furniture for customizing your house, etc) behind obvious paywalls, but they have since released actual content, quests, and characters for additional purchase both in-game and as an expansion. Many players in the fan base became outraged, and for good reason—not all of DDV’s quests are equal, and paying extra doesn’t feel great.

Given that there are dozens of characters, it makes sense that the game hits some struggle points. Some of the characters have pretty lackluster quests or ones that just don’t make any sense. (Simba and Nala want me to get them a bunch of bugs, sure, but then they want a karaoke machine…?)

Others are tedious and disappointing. For example, a character will ask you to gather a ton of materials stuff (so many sticks, like hundreds of sticks, I’m not exaggerating) to build a special item, like a telescope. There’s an exciting photo-op with the characters that requested it, so the item does really exist in the game. But then, the telescope just…disappears. It’s really disappointing, and confusing, and it happens again and again. Why can’t I keep my telescope/snowmen family/Stitch’s bandstand?! There were so many sticks??!?!?!

Some charactes that are famous and well-known, have voice actors that unfortunately don’t sound much like the original (again, looking at you, Simba), and it’s noticeable. Or the artwork seems just a bit off (Belle’s face looks like she got stung by a bee, and our resident nerd princess deserves better).

Thus, there’s a point where the Disney magic starts to fade, and the strings begin to show.

So, I take a break.

And, inevitably, life gets difficult again, because hey, it’s life! And, inevitably, I return to DDV. When I do, there are new characters to say hi to, like Jack Skellington and Vanellope von Schweetz from Wreck-It Ralph. There’s now a second level to Scrooge McDuck’s store, and I can even meet up with other players, like my mom (whom I have loved discussing this game with!). Despite my frustrations with this game, I’ve put in over 100 hours since its release.

So, this update is all to say… Disney Dreamlight Valley is not a perfect game. I knew it in October 2022, and I certainly know it now. Since writing my original review, cozy games have had a bubble burst, and DDV was definitely part of that. But I stand by my original score below, and I think it’s a worthwhile adventure, especially for anyone new to gaming or who just needs the equivalent of a big Disney hug.

Is Disney Dreamlight Valley a Good Game?

I think it’s great for what it is. Disney Dreamlight Valley works because it knows you want to binge a game. And not just any game, but an easy game. A comforting, ever-familiar one. DDV does not inventing anything new, but it’s meeting the genre where it’s at and does so with an impressive level of accessibility. Disney Dreamlight Valley features a robust set of game mechanics with such forgiving pacing, making it a great choice for children learning more complex RPGs, teenagers who love Disney, and/or adults who are looking to spend hours making apple pies for Mickey Mouse (i.e., me).

While Disney Dreamlight Valley is available on a variety of platforms, I think it is a perfect fit on the Nintendo Switch. It’s easy to pick up and play for 10 minutes on the bus or in a hallway, and enjoyable enough to play for hours on an airplane or a couch. It can be played offline, though certain features (like buying things or trading photos in an interior design challenge) aren’t.

I wish I was cool enough to say that I hadn’t even considered buying this game. I’m not a diehard Disney fan. But on a rainy Saturday, sick and coughing and a little sad, I found the ultimate comfort food in Disney Dreamlight Valley.

DDV is a return to childhood for anyone who has fond memories of any Disney film. What’s more, there are themes here of remembering and forgetting, of saving worlds and friends, of bringing light to the dark—familiar fare for anyone who enjoys Kingdom Hearts. The big messages here remind me of the delight I found in Kingdom Hearts, but without all the emo teenagers with giant shoes.

Disney Dreamlight Valley is about bringing friends together, pure and simple. And in this absurd world, who doesn’t want a bit of pure and simple?

Score: 9.0/10

Disney Dreamlight Valley is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Mac, Windows, and on iOS via Apple Arcade.

This review was updated in June 2024; the score did not change.