Disney Dreamlight Valley is a game created by Gameloft in partnership with Disney that was released on September 6, 2022. As a Disney fan, I knew that the game would be good. I just didn’t realize how good it would actually be. Disney Dreamlight Valley will make you the villain or hero that you want to be, all while creating your dream village with the Disney characters we have all grown up to love.
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Disney Dreamlight Valley is a Cozy Gamer’s Dream

Disney Dreamlight Valley is a cozy gamer’s dream because it provides many ways to play the game. There’s no win/lose scenario and no dying. There are some spooky elements and a mystery surrounding the valley that really plays into the overall worldbuilding and storytelling. Who is the ruler? What happened to the valley? What will happen? Only you can find out!
The storyline and side quests go hand in hand where you level up as you complete them. Similar to Genshin Impact, this is a game where you have to complete quests to continue on with your main adventure.
This is where the combination of completing tasks that the quest holder wants you to do and grinding for items while having a friend ‘hang out’ comes in handy. Setting specific characters to mining, fishing, gardening, and foraging will help lead to more items and faster quest completion.
For a lot of quests, you’ll need to make special items using your DIY tool kit or any kitchen oven to craft recipes. (Pro-Tip: You can place some of the ovens outside!)
One of my favorite tasks is mining with Scrooge or Kristof. They both can fit into the mines that you get access to through Sunlit Plateau. The higher the character’s level, the more they will help you collect those gems, stones, iron nuggets, and coal that you will need to craft with. Besides hanging out with the besties, you can also gift your favorite characters to help them level up in friendship.
Plenty of Life Through Updates

Although the game launched in 2022, it still has quite a few issues. After the latest update, the game got boggled down with long load times and crashes. However, with Gameloft releasing daily updates, players can expect issues like this to be fixed in no time.
The current update includes Simba and Nala as individual playable characters. Prince Eric’s ship is available for star coins, and there’s a ton of new content to be crafted! Some other amazing items include Fantasyland, It’s a Small World, and furniture pieces that are available for sale for a limited time.
The Verdict
While the game is similar to Animal Crossing (AC), I would say that the story development is far more intricate than AC. The need to craft specific items requires you to fish, mine, dig, garden, forage, and ultimately collect to further progress in the game, and story quests give this game more of an RPG feel. Most of the materials have a time refresh limit, so it’s not too hard to grind out, but it can get tedious.
I would say this game is a good daily play; you can spend anywhere from 30 minutes up to four hours doing tasks. There is a day/night cycle to Disney Dreamlight Valley, and time-skipping is not allowed because it will break your save file. However, you can keep it on “day mode” through your settings. While the game have an autosave feature, it won’t always work. So, you’ll need to double-check that your game was saved if you don’t want to lose your progress.
With the constant updates, it’s clear that Gameloft plans to continue the game for a long time. If you’re a Disney fan and love cozy games such as Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Genshin Impact, or Stardew Valley, I would recommend getting Disney Dreamlight Valley.

Great
Pros | Cons |
Easy mechanics to maneuver with | Load times and crashes |
Has cross-play functionality | Some quests require materials that aren’t unlockable until later in the game |
Frequent updates | Autosave doesn’t always work |
Lots of side quests to keep new players interested | Requires grinding for resources |
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