When Disney Dreamlight Valley was first revealed, many gamers did not give the title much attention. Clearly trying to capitalize on the life sim trend and taking clear inspiration from games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, many assumed that the game would be an average title at best or shovelware at worst. However, it has quickly become a surprise hit with Disney fans, as the charming characters and licensed music have elevated a simple concept into a consistently enjoyable and relaxing game.
While developer Gameloft has a lot of work to do in the lead-up to the game’s proper release, especially when it comes to bug fixing, the early access period has been promising. The core experience of interacting with Disney characters and building up a customizable valley works well, and part of what makes the game so enjoyable is its numerous quality of life features. In fact, Disney Dreamlight Valley completely outdoes the beloved Animal Crossing: New Horizons in this area, as the game allows players to make far more progress in one sitting.
How Disney Dreamlight Valley Makes Things Easier For Players
One of the biggest strengths of Disney Dreamlight Valley is that players are not discouraged from playing at nighttime. While some characters like Moana and Mickey Mouse will go to sleep, this only lasts for a few hours instead of the entire night, letting players interact with them later on in a long session. Beyond that, players can do everything at night that they are able to do during the morning, making things simpler and more accessible than Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
One of the best examples of this are the shops, as players can access Scrooge McDuck’s store and Goofy’s stalls at any point. This is a major difference from Able Sisters and Nook’s Cranny in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, as the former is completely closed at night and the latter only provides a drop box for selling items. This is a huge plus for gamers who can only play at nighttime, as they can go shopping just as they would in the day. However, being able to do more things at night is far from the only quality of life feature that is available.
Planting multiple crops in one go is another Disney Dreamlight Valley feature that is extremely convenient, as is the list of favorite items for residents. This helps prevent tedious moments like the search for a lost item’s owner in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, as players know exactly which person to give certain items to. The use of rarity colors for fishing is another nice touch, as it is much easier to read and comprehend than the shadowy figures used for Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ fish.
Fast travel is yet another great quality of life feature included within Disney Dreamlight Valley. Though Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ Super Mario content added some limited fast travel through pipes, it only allowed players to connect a few points and forced them to have a Mario-themed item on their island even if it did not fit the aesthetic. Disney Dreamlight Valley’s wells do not have this same issue, and the fact that one is present in every single region makes getting around the map a breeze.
However, the best quality of life mechanic by far is the option to craft multiple items in one go. Animal Crossing fans have asked for this to be added constantly, but with even Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ 2.0 update not providing it, it seems clear that it will never come to the most recent game. The fact that Disney Dreamlight Valley already has this quality of life option present in early access is exciting, and shows that some thought went into making the game as relaxing as possible. Though there are still quality of life features that could be added, such as the option to cook multiple meals at once, the game already feels like a cut above the competition in this area. As such, Nintendo should take some notes from it when crafting the next Animal Crossing game.
Disney Dreamlight Valley is available in early access for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.