Exploring the Magic of Dreamlight Valley: A Disney Cozy Adventure
Okay, I did it. I bought Dreamlight Valley for our Nintendo Switch.
After reading about the game and hearing all these rave reviews online, I decided to get it. Then I promptly stopped myself. A couple of reasons why, first, I AM AN ADULT. I have priorities and things I need to get done, so why would I buy myself a time suck video game? I wouldn't. No. The second reason, everyone kept talking about it. It can't be as fun as it sounds, so why would I spend that much money to let myself down and waste time doing so? So I did precisely what any average human would do; I avoided it. I took time to read all the reviews I could find and stalked the website, but by no means was I going to buy the game. Now, I have been at home for some time, and I have folded. I purchased the Deluxe edition, and guess what?
I LOVE IT!
It starts with an introduction to Dream Valley, where all the Forgetting has been happening, and poor Merlin needs your help along with the other characters before they forget altogether. Then you get to build your avatar. The avatars are SO CUTE! Mine has hips, glasses, and short hair, resembling my ideal cartoon version. Then you learn about expeditions like digital scavenger hunts and how to win them. It reminds me of a much better version of SIMS I was in love with as a kid but so much better in all the ways.
I won't explain how to play the game because I would need to improve at explaining it. Also, so many great reviews go into detail about people who are much farther ahead in the game than I am. I'm just enjoying this journey I have placed myself on. What I will explain is Dream Valley's aesthetics.
Dream Valley
The DreamValley world is the most relaxed, beautifully developed, character-interactive, kindness matters dreamworld I have ever been inserted in. Admittedly, Granite, I haven't been a video game person outside of Parking Garage when I can't sleep since SIMS and a brief obsession with World Of Warcraft when I lived abroad, but still, art is art! The game also functions in real-time based on the weather outside. For instance, this morning, it was raining, and my plants around the world I had planted grew faster! What also is astonishing is that characters with all these expeditions for you to complete go to sleep. Like me, they exhaust themselves, and at around 10 pm, they clunker out. It means you can only do a little for missions past a particular time. You can still build stuff, harvest, plant crops, get rid of vines, and many other things, but if you're supposed to talk to someone past bedtime, you'll have to wait until morning.
Overall, the whole game feels relatable on so many levels. It sounds insane to feel like you can relate to a Disney game, but this is who I am. My conclusion, Dreamlight Valley is literally the cutest Disney-focused dreamworld hug I didn't know I needed. Yes, it takes time, but also focusing on not doing but relaxing is something I need to learn, and this game is teaching me to curl up, turn off my mind, and do just that.
