Taking a quick intermission from the Halloween themes that have been in my articles through October, I am back with yet another game review. This time: “Disney Dreamlight Valley.”

“Disney Dreamlight Valley” is a life-sim/adventure game released in 2023 (though it had an early access mode released in 2022). The game is centered around a player-made avatar as they attempt to restore the titular “Dreamlight Valley”—a place where Disney characters from all sorts of popular Disney-owned movies live together—to its former glory after a curse referred to as The Forgetting took over the land.

The game (often compared to Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley and other cozy games) is primarily focused on collecting and questing. There is farming, fishing, foraging, and mining to do all around the various parts of the valley in addition to many story—and character-based quests. 

A large aspect of the game is befriending all of the different Disney characters, including Mickey Mouse, Remy (from “Ratatouille”), Ursula (from “The Little Mermaid”), and Simba (from “The Lion King”). There are many characters already, and the developers have been consistently adding more through updates since the game’s full release. 

I have been playing the game for about a month now and have roughly 70 hours in the game on Steam as of writing this, and I have been thoroughly enjoying it. I tend to enjoy the types of games in which I am constantly given very specific tasks to perform because while open/sandbox-style games are fun, I get quickly overwhelmed and/or bored. I also just appreciate a clear, linear storyline to learn over the course of a game.

There are times when the quests (especially the character-driven quests) become extremely repetitive and simply consist of “talk to this character” and “talk to that character.” But there is rarely any actual pressure to do those quests if I really do not want to, and I end up completing them as I just happen to see the character while out on a little collecting mission of my own. This is also often softened as many of the characters (especially the villains) have odd, funny, and sometimes slightly unhinged dialogue, which make the constant conversations less tedious.

However, one of the main aspects of this game that I enjoy is learning the (often ridiculous and/or absurd) lore that was written for this story. When I originally bought the game, I figured that it would just be various recognizable characters hanging around the world, but instead there are entire subplots about Minnie Mouse being trapped in another dimension while at the same time Elsa, Anna, Moana, and Mirabel are having a party because they were apparently best friends before the curse befell the valley. I am always amused by the random lore drops ranging from mundane to shocking. 

I also enjoy this game as it reminds me a lot of the 2007 game “Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey,” which I loved growing up. It is a similar premise, though without the life-sim aspects, as a player-made avatar with no memories must save several princesses from a mysterious curse. If there are any readers like me who also loved that game, they may want to look into “Disney Dreamlight Valley,” as it feels very similar, but more grown up.

I have seen that many people online hesitate to buy this game because they are not extreme Disney fans and they wonder if they would still enjoy the game (a valid concern, especially considering the game’s $40 price tag). However, I am not an extreme Disney fan either, but I think it is fun that the characters are recognizable because I think the average player will have seen Goofy or Donald Duck before in their life.

I also don’t think that it really matters that much if the player is a huge fan of the movies, as there are several characters from movies that I have only seen once, if at all, and I don’t think my lack of knowledge has detracted from the spirit of the game. Without the recognizable IP, it’s really just another cozy game. That being said — if you are a person who does not like cozy games, even if you like Disney, this game will probably not be for you. Overall, “Disney Dreamlight Valley” is a pretty typical cozy game, just one that has very famous pre-existing characters. It is available on Steam (for PC and Mac) and console (including Playstation, Xbox, and Switch).