New update ruined this game for me

[kbhigh10]

whoever wrote the story line for this update has serious issues they should deal with through therapy not bringing their issues into this game that was fun and sweet. I don't want to do this quest and should have an opt out option. Not every person who grew up went through a goth anger stage of life which the story line seems to think. And for those people who may have had a period of their life that was difficult this game seems to be angled at making them feel guilty for it! I am so disappointed that Disney would be okay with this type of story line.

[RedLouis_NL]

I don't see a problem with this. I have worked in a mental health organization and did have issues in my life aswell. I think it is good that the game shows "negative" emotions and tough decisions are part of life. It also learns that you can do good things to make you feel better again. You should watch Inside Out, it learns you a lot that there are two sides of a story.

[Minty Bean]

"Goth anger stage"? More like severe depression. We all knew this is the direction it was going in, with the protagonist being a burnt out adult, and it's very Disney, honestly.

[kitsuneblue]

the game to me is showing more depression than anger. that feeling that nothing you do matters and all you can do is mess things up.

[SonicDoom™]

Im happy for them to have a mental health angle to the story, the problem is the poor writing. Kinda bad timing though that they're talking about love, hope and friendship at the same time as releasing the greediest most corporate update so far.

[kbhigh10]

I guess I use these games as an escape from the real world so I want it to be light and fun. The reality that there is good and bad in the world doesn't need to be forced upon me in a game. I have that in real life, this is just a sweet game where you get to interact with Disney characters and Minnie Mouse tells you she loves you. I think that's sweet and fun. I just don't want to be made to feel guilty for growing up and having to be an adult. This game gives you a chance to be a kid again, but then ruins it by bringing adult issues into it. There are plenty of games I could play if I chose to that could deal with good and bad adult situations, this game could just be a sweet fun game. Oh well it was fun for a while, but not really worth all the time it takes to do the quests.

[Talon]

Legit speed through the text then, it is fine as a story and fits why something bad is happening other than, just being evil

[Aliebn]

Originally posted by kbhigh10:

whoever wrote the story line for this update has serious issues they should deal with through therapy not bringing their issues into this game that was fun and sweet. I don't want to do this quest and should have an opt out option. Not every person who grew up went through a goth anger stage of life which the story line seems to think. And for those people who may have had a period of their life that was difficult this game seems to be angled at making them feel guilty for it! I am so disappointed that Disney would be okay with this type of story line.

While your post is a tad hyperbolic, you bring up a fair point IMHO. Don't get me wrong, I love the quests, and I don't mind the direction they take (mostly). The problem is there is such a huge emphasis on negative emotion and negative (evil) characters that it takes away from the joy of playing the game.

We have no control over that, every day I have to put up with scar saying all the crappy things he says (oh joy, that makes the game fun to play doesn't it?). I really don't mind most of it, but it gets to you a bit at the end of the day doesn't it? I don't see an issue with the main quest line, but I do think all the emphasis on negative things makes it a less enjoyable experience overall.

[PurpleSimz]

I personally haven't touched the new quests yet because of mental health issues I'm currently dealing with. I probably won't be touching the story quests for a while because of those issues too. I honestly feel bad for people who did not realize these story quests are much darker and were reminded of things they did not want to bring up.

This game is like an escape for me, too. Having the option to skip certain hard hitting quests would be nice, and I really hope trigger warnings are added so people know what to expect and can try to avoid it and such.

[[💩] Jenna-Tolls]

You could have complained about literally anything else about this update and you choose to pick on the emotional part? Maybe you should expose yourself to situations like this and open your eyes to it instead of complain about it.

[Zireael]

Originally posted by kbhigh10:

whoever wrote the story line for this update has serious issues they should deal with through therapy not bringing their issues into this game that was fun and sweet. I don't want to do this quest and should have an opt out option. Not every person who grew up went through a goth anger stage of life which the story line seems to think. And for those people who may have had a period of their life that was difficult this game seems to be angled at making them feel guilty for it! I am so disappointed that Disney would be okay with this type of story line.

If you think the quest is about a "goth anger stage", then you're the one who needs to grow up. It's actually a pretty hard-hitting quest, if you know any of the issues it's about.
But just because it doesn't affect you, doesn't mean it shouldn't be in the game. Not every story in every game has to be about you, do you only play games that 100% reflect your own experiences? Because if you do, then I suspect you don't play a lot of games, if any...

[Hanomaly]

Originally posted by kbhigh10:

I guess I use these games as an escape from the real world so I want it to be light and fun. The reality that there is good and bad in the world doesn't need to be forced upon me in a game. I have that in real life, this is just a sweet game where you get to interact with Disney characters and Minnie Mouse tells you she loves you. I think that's sweet and fun. I just don't want to be made to feel guilty for growing up and having to be an adult. This game gives you a chance to be a kid again, but then ruins it by bringing adult issues into it. There are plenty of games I could play if I chose to that could deal with good and bad adult situations, this game could just be a sweet fun game. Oh well it was fun for a while, but not really worth all the time it takes to do the quests.

Edit: took out my diagnosis because i decided not to share. But. i have am middle age and have struggled with mental illness my whole life.

Yes the Disney Dreamlight Valley story has darkness in it related to real life, growing up, depression/anger/pain, and making regretful decisions, or being confused about growing up. This has been hinted about in the story since far-in the beginning. It's not a new theme just in this update.

This story is made for adults and touches on some adult topics. Same for pretty much every cartoon, tv show. or book, made for adults (even most young adult, and juvenile chapter book fiction, for that matter). Some go into those things in a lighter way than others. Disney Dreamlight goes into this actually quite "heavy" for brief moments, but very light the rest of the time. So the game is like 90% light.

i am sorry the game bothered you tho! Or the story line.
The story line doesn't bother me so much (tho some parts have made me a bit sad, or melancholy and reflective. But feeling those emotions is okay with me,).. but i do wish the writing were a little better.

Besides which, the greater story clearly seems to be going in the direction of hope and forgiveness, with a warning. The moral seems to be: Running away from your dark feelings, or grown up feelings, is a real danger. Hiding from the real-ness of life, the tough stuff, can cause problems. Not talking about those things, can mess life up. It is better to deal with feelings, acknowledge struggles, and not "pretend everything is okay and happy and great" all the time. But, the moral goes on to say, even if you do fall into a bad place, or make decisions in struggling times that you later regret, you can still change!

The story basically seems to be going in the direction of telling us it's okay to embrace our past "dark/forgotten self". Not to embrace it as in "join the darkness", but to show kindness and love and forgiveness to those parts of ourselves. And to try to repair what we can.... to make "Dreamlight Valley" better. To heal ourselves and our little worlds where we can. When we can.

it's actually a story of hope and friendship, that acknowledges life isn't all happy-go-lucky.. and sorta warns us that pretending it is... well that is not the path to happiness/healing/mental health - likewise getting wrapped up in despair is also not the way to our Dreams. i dunno!! it's actually sort of a lovely notion... tho again. i wish the writing was a bit better.

[Hanomaly]

Just to add a little future, several of Disney movies actually deal with similar heavy issues as this game.

In Frozen Elsa deals with trying to accept who she is, and to forgive herself for how she felt she hurt Anna as a child, and fearing her power... she goes into even "deeper" darkness for awhile as an adult, freezing her land.. locking herself away, hiding and refusing to talk to people about how she's really feeling... all building up to greater problems (and hurting people - like her town/without even realising it because she is so deep in her own dark/hurt/scared-feelings).. until she learns to be accept help/love from others, not hide her feelings, she forgives herself, Anna forgives her, she heals the hurt she caused to her "world" .. there are parallels to what's happening in Dreamlight Valley.

Ralph Breaks the Internet deals with heavy issues of fear.. jealousy... insecurity.. and how not being honest with those things and talking them out with love/compassion/friendship can cause huge issues....

Lilo and Stitch has a lot of heavy emotional topics, and even the follow up Stitch Has a Glitch deals with a sort of "shadow" side to Stitch, and trying to be good.. and fight against that inner "badness", but also learning to accept love, help, and friendship from those around him.

Inside Out is a whole movie about emotions, and our "Dreamlight Valley memory orbs" seem to come from there.

Even some of the older disney movies, which might not go in as deeply about psychological issues... still have a darkness to the stories. They aren't all "happy go lucky" the world is perfect. So... i guess it's kind of strange to me for someone to expect a Disney game to be all only sweetness. i cannot think of any major Disney movie that didn't have a dark element that needed to be overcome.

This includes fights/arguments and betrayals and hurt feelings between friend characters, that end up having to be worked out or solved.