Disney Dreamlight Valley: For cozy Disney adults

 As cozy games have taken over since the Pandemic times, this year we've gotten a new addition which includes some beloved characters. Disney Dreamlight Valley is available for "Early Access" on (which platforms).

I've been playing this game on my Nintendo Switch since week 1. My initial reaction to the release of the game was that I would be waiting until it is available next year for free. But the more I saw screenshots of the game, the more intrigued I became. I am admittedly a big "Disney adult," mainly because of my love for the Disneyland Resort theme park. 

Immediately I am hooked on this game. It has the decorative aspects of Animal Crossing New Horizons (which I played all 2020 while stuck inside and loved) but with a Disney flare. I've started decorating my Village with more foliage, trees, bushes, and walkways. So far my favorite area I've made is a flower and fountain in front of my house. I used the opal and gold tile flooring and surrounded it with butterfly flowers. In the center sits my Mickey fountain. All around I've collected flowers from each of the biomes. All its missing are some butterflies and pollinators visiting the flowers!

So far I have unlocked all of the available characters, and I am slowly leveling them up to level 10. I've found the best ways to quickly level up are:

1. Serve meals in the restaurant - this gives a huge boost of star energy to he character. The only downside is you will need to watch for characters to be available at Remy's, you can't choose when they are there. 

2. Give characters their daily special gifts - You can check this in the character collection menu, and gather up the items each character wants. 

3. Take a character along with you to do tasks - This works best if you pair your task with the boost your character has, but you can bring any character to do all tasks and it will slowly increase their star points. 

4. Talk to characters for a daily conversation - Just saying hi once a day will give you a tiny boost in star points. 

I don't think I have a favorite character yet, I like to bounce around between them doing quests and tasks, and getting a taste of their personality. The characters all have a LOT of personality. Donald in particular, you can't quite ignore his tantrums. 

There is so much to focus on in the game that it's easy to get lost doing different things for hours. Do you feel like gathering materials to build furniture, paths, and fencing? Do you want to garden, forage, and harvest to cook meals? Maybe take some time rearranging the houses and creating beautiful sights in the Village? You could decorate the rooms of your house, with wall art, lighting, beds and more. Fish at the beach, collect mushrooms in the glade, this is why its called a cozy game. Who wants to do real life chores when these daily life tasks are so fun and colorful. 

With the latest update there's already been a huge quality improvement to the game and how it functions. Already the cameras and controls when decorating are smoother and more intuitive. Glitches where items got stuck inside other objects or were unreachable were repaired and righted. New areas to explore were uncovered, new companion animals to meet, and new minerals to mine are all there to give you more to explore. 

I know there are even MORE updates coming to this game, and I can't wait for all the realms in the castle to be filled with the Disney and Pixar characters we love as Disney fans. 

Hold on -- did I mention the clothes?! My favorite routine in Animal Crossing was always going to the store each day to change my outfit before my adventures. In this game you can dress gowns and suits from you favorite characters, wear Goofy's hat or Donald's jacket. You can also customize your own outfits and design them using "motifs" collected from chests and quests as you play. There's never a shortage of things to do or customize or explore in this game, and it's only beginning. 

I can't wait to see what else Disney Dreamlight Valley has to offer in the future updates! 

Are you playing? Do you have favorites - characters, tasks, items, food, biomes, what do you like?