Video Games: Is ‘Disney Dreamlight Valley’ Just ‘Animal Crossing’ With New Paint?
Disney Dreamlight Valley may be the latest in quite village life sim games. But is it just Animal Crossing with a Disney skin?
Remember Animal Crossing? In the early days of 2020 when all of our garages were turned into home gyms and then abandoned, a single game where you’re the only contributing member of a small island village run by a raccoon mafia was the only thing helping some of us keep it together. But it was also cute, fun and delightful. We may have all walked away from Animal Crossing at the same-ish time when we were able to see our friends in person again instead of meeting up with them on their electronic island. But the game will always hold a special place in our hearts. Until the next one comes out that is.
Well, the next one may be here. And it’s Disney.
Dreamlight Valley
Disney Dreamlight Valley is a new game that describes itself as “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.” So take the farming slice-of-life farming sim, add a few quests, throw it in the middle of your Disney park of choice, and you’re more or less there. It’s cozy, it’s comfortable, and the graphics are pretty darn good.
Right now Dreamlight Valley is available for early access on Xbox, Playstation, PC, and Switch. Players have reported a few issues like broken quests and glitches. But we expect those to be cleared up by the game’s free-to-play launch in 2023.
Okay, But We’ve Already Played Animal Crossing
But is there more to Disney Dreamlight Valley than an Animal Crossing clone? When you start the game, it’s going to feel like a no as Merlin tells you to go find a watering can, axe, fishing rod, and shovel. It’s going to continue to feel like a no when you go to buy a daily-rotating selection of clothing and furniture from Scrooge McDuck, build your electronic dreamhouse, and do endless chores to complete endless crafts. But let’s be honest; we liked that about Animal Crossing.
Dreamlight Valley however has one thing that Animal Crossing lacked in an ongoing plotline. Minnie Mouse is missing, residents of the Valley are constantly “Forgetting,” and you need to help fix things around here. As you complete more quests and progress the story you gain more of the map and more of your favorite characters to befriend.
I loved Animal Crossing. But I got bored of it after a (long) while. And that frankly probably wouldn’t have happened with a plot or quests. So a game that takes all of the most calming, cozy, mellow aspects of living in a cute village, adds IPs that I already have a nostalgic connection to, and makes it harder to get bored of, has the potential to be a slam dunk.
I want to go to there.
Are you playing the early access Disney Dreamlight Village? Will you play join when it’s free-to-play next year? Which Disney character would you like to have as a neighbor? Let us know in the comments!
Happy Adventuring!
