Dreamlight is a genuinely decent cozy game; it's pretty, moreish, the plot isn't half bad, they've done a great job characterising, and its Star Path feature is actually really decent (giving you half your moonstones back if you complete it). The gameplay loop is good if you like collecting things, the quests feel neverending in a good way, and the decoration is Very engrossing.

But then there's the Microtransactions. I haven't seen a game this greedy in a while, obviously whalefishing more than caring for fair prices.

Half a star has been added because it's easy enough to get premium currency via the Dreamsnaps feature, but between the above and going back on its free-to-play promises and charging a ton for DLC, it won't go much higher.

This is wildly addicting...when there is content to work towards. When there is no current event, I take a break from the horrid grind. But wow is it the prefect "I am exhausted from work, I am dealing with stress in my life, let me unwind" game.

I have played since early access and they have fixed a lot of bugs that would completely break the game and impede main quest progress. However, I think since the DLC came out, there are new game busting bugs. It's also disappointing to use your currency to pay for a premium quest, only for it to be impossible to finish due to a bug. Then you have to wait over 30+ days for a fix. And then, I shit you not, the fix is bugged.

It is nice to be able to step away from the game, do something else, and pick it back up with ease.

You play as yourself (or anyone you want, really) as your enter a world darkened by night thorns and a mystery known as The Forgetting. Just a few Disney characters are there to greet you and fill you in on what's happened. Then it's up to you to bring everyone else back, restore their memories, and bring friendship back to the Valley.

This review only covers the base game and free updates, not the Rift in Time DLC.

Visuals

I loved the way Dreamlight Valley looks! Even when it's dark and gloomy, it's just bright and crisp and lovely. It's fully 3D with a free roaming camera, so you're able to look everywhere and take everything in. Yes, this means there are some crazy camera angles at times, but that just goes with the territory.

The character models looks great, really capturing each of the characters. Each biome has its own theme and unique look, and is fully customizable once you clear it of any debris. I especially loved seeing the sky change with the time of day, weather, or Valley events.

Sound Effects + Music

I love Disney music, so of course the background music here makes me super happy. It's mostly remixed familiar tunes with some new compositions mixed in.

The voice acting is also great. It's not full lines, just words and phrases, but everyone sounds how they're suppose to (unlike Belle in Disney Speedstorm!).

Gameplay + Controls

Disney Dreamlight Valley is a 3D life simulator with lots of mechanics and menus and buttons. But with nearly 100 hours in the game, everything is almost second nature to me.

The basis of the game is fetch quests and collecting resources. Thankfully, those are things I enjoy doing, so this is the perfect game for me. Every single character has multiple quest lines based on their friendship level with you. Some of them are required in order to progress the main story, but for the most part, you can do these at your own pace.

There are soooo many things to collect! You have resources that are needed to craft other items, lost memories, quest specific items, and more. You can fish, mine, forage, garden, and cook! You can talk to your neighbors and give them gifts and hang out with them! Hanging out was a little disappointing, because they just kind of follow you around and give you extra items based on whatever job you assign them. I wish there was a bit more to that.

You also have multiple currencies. The main one is Star Coins, which you get from selling items, finding chests, or digging up. You use these for making purchases at Scrooge's shop, Goofy's stall, and paying for Valley upgrades. The second currency is Dreamlight, which is earned by completing an endless supply of Dreamlight duties and achievements. Dreamlight is mainly used for unlocking new areas. Finally, there's Moonstones, the premium currency. You can earn some Moonstones, but for the most part, you'll be spending real money on them, if you so choose. They're spend on cosmetic items, and other optional content.


Replayability

While I love this game, Disney Dreamlight Valley is not really replayable for me. There's a pretty lengthy story, and the friendship quests also take quite a bit of time and grinding. I don't see a reason to start it over, but it definitely has daily play potential! There's so much to do to keep you engaged and coming back again and again.


Overall

If you love Disney and fetch quests as much as I do, you'll certainly enjoy your time with Disney Dreamlight Valley. I can't wait to see how this game grows over time!

I haven't touched this one in a while and figure I probably won't go back to it. have a hard time finding any of types of life sim style games to even come close to the charm of Animal Crossing but Dreamlight Valley comes close.

Craft stuff, cook stuff, upgrade your house, pick weeds, mine ore, talk to Disney characters... it's what you would expect from this style of game.

The only issue for me is that I feel like I'm spinning my wheels all too often in the game. The progression vs time spent for me just doesn't compute. Cute game though, I could see die hard Disney fans really digging this one, but after around 22 hours and not much to show for it, I'm hanging up my mickey ears.

Expected a comfy farming sim, got a story about about forgiving your past actions and coping with the loss of childhood innocence and wonder - AND a comfy farming sim

Other than how shops are handled and the need for some better indoor house furniture, Dreamlight does practically everything better than modern Animal Crossing and similar titles

It's only let down by the amount of frustrating bugs. Some of which haven't been fixed in 11+ months

i'm not the biggest disney fan but i AM a big fan of social/life/farm sims, so obviously i'm easily addicted

i'm actually enjoying the main story quite a bit, and i like that the character quests interweave together so they feel like they exist in this space together. it's neat! the game is really cheesy at times and the way the pillars work is very "friendship is magic"-esque but i'm here for it. it's relaxing and makes me feel good to have every character be like "hey buddy you're doing great!" every time they see me, i just need that sometimes and it's nice

don't know how many characters they intend to add to the game but hoping for an emperor's new groove addition one day