I’ll be honest: I almost didn’t buy Disney Dreamlight Valley because of the reviews floating around. A lot of people seemed down on it for many reasons, and I let that steer me away for way too long. I regret that now, because this game is truly lovely.

What makes this game shine for me:

1. Yes, it can be a bit grindy at times, but let’s not pretend its farming/life sim siblings such as Stardew Valley, Coral Island, Fields of Mistria, Sun Haven, etc. (I'm only referencing Sun Haven cause it IS a great game, I USED to play it A LOT until I learned that they don't pay their devs! PAY YOUR DEVS!) aren’t built the exact same way. I actually found Stardew to have a VERY slow start initially and it took 3 tries playing it before I got into the hype because of how "grindy" it can seem but that's kinda the point isn't it? There's always a grind in cosy games and I guess it comes down to how fast you want the reward factor. In this day of instant gratification, I don't mind that some things take time and work.

2. That being said... the unlocking of storylines feels rewarding. I love watching the narrative unfold bit by bit, piece by piece as you start to progress and unlock things.

3. In Dreamlight Valley, the graphics are gorgeous for that cartoony, Disney feel. There are moments of choppiness here and there (like when you're calling Goofy to the stall for buying/selling), but nothing that takes away from the charm or playability. It’s a vibrant, magical world I genuinely enjoy being in.

4. Bringing Disney characters to life (and into your valley) is delightful. I enjoy visiting their worlds and exploring, even when it’s just a tiny kitchen or a little corner of a far-off planet, it still sparks a childlike joy.

5. I adore the real-time system. There’s no “Oops! You stayed up too late, pass out and lose half your gold!” punishment. It’s cozy and pressure-free. This game goes only as fast or slow as you want it to go. There is a downside to this of course being daily things alike chatting with villagers are in fact a DAILY thing but that's not too detrimental once they hit level 2 friendship so I can forgive that lol

6. The stamina system feels generous, too. Need energy? Step into your home or cook something for when you're out and about and you’re good to go (I haven't tried it yet but you can even have "free" food in a certain world if you play it just right). You’re never boxed in to "going to bed" or not being able to accomplish what you want in a day.

Now for the not-so-magical bits:

1. Here's where I agree with some of the negative reviews. I’m not a fan of the “premium” moonstone system. While it hasn't been detrimental to gameplay or anything as it's based only really around cosmetics let's be real... us cosy gamers love them cosmetics and I think any game you pay for upfront shouldn’t lean into microtransactions like this.

2. There’s not a lot of in-game guidance for how to accomplish certain things. Like for one, one of the story quests I was just completely oblivious to. I searched all over the game for what was being referred to and only after I checked in with reddit did it click. Another instance is I had no idea how to break stumps until the community helped me out. Without them, I most definitely would’ve fluked into it eventually, but it probably would've made the game feel a little slower and it’s easy to see how that could make the grind feel heavier for some players.

3. I feel like the auto harvests mechanic should be a little more polished when you get to "golden" harvests and you should continue to harvest that until it's done. Iykyk.

That said? The community is wonderful. Kind, helpful, and passionate about the game. The game graphics are "Disney" as they should be. The gameplay is standard. Pretty much exactly what you want in a cozy corner of the gaming world.

If you love life sims and want something magical, low-stress, and rewarding over time, don’t sleep on Dreamlight Valley like I did. It’s absolutely worth it for any cosy gamer.

I joined right after the Frozen event had concluded and enjoyed myself playing and getting new characters at my own pace. Then the Aladdin event started and what I previously had enjoyed turned into pressure and torment as most of the tasks I got related to areas or characters I hadn't unlocked yet.

The game turned into a total grindfest that requited hours upon hours to complete. Not only that, but some of the tasks were made so that you needed multiple days to complete them (like Daisy's shop). At one point I didn't have a single task I could complete unless I unlocked something new, which isn't an easy task when you have a limited time to do it and the resources needed have a respawn timer and you need a lot of them.

The game is boring and makes every quest a chore to complete and id really rather not. The only thing that I found fun was scrooge's shop but it only refreshes once a day and the rest of the game doesnt make me want to stick around enough to wait for it.