I usually keep skilled and preserve my fanboy playing cards near my chest after I’m assembly with a developer, however typically the masks slips.
Most gamers have a dwell service recreation that they’ll swear by, and for me that recreation is Disney Dreamlight Valley. Granted, EA Sports activities FC and WWE 2K titles come and go yearly, however for 3 years now (to the precise day, in truth – it entered early entry on September 6, 2022 – Dreamlight Valley has been a daily fixture in my day by day life.
We’re a giant Disney family, and whereas different Disney video games have held my consideration for some time earlier than dropping off – sorry Disney Speedstorm, your penny-pinching obtained too far when your cut up your seasonal content material into three separate paid waves – kudos should go to Gameloft Montreal for crafting a recreation that my daughter and I proceed to play in any case this time.
One of many predominant causes it’s saved our consideration for therefore lengthy is that Dreamlight Valley is truthful. The sport was initially deliberate to be free-to-play when it left early entry, however Gameloft ultimately determined to scrap this concept and make it a paid title. This primarily killed the temptation to introduce any of the extra predatory microtransaction strategies a free-to-play recreation might need carried out.
Because of this, whereas there’s nonetheless seasonal content material with the everyday paid ‘battle move’ tier you’d count on from a dwell service recreation, there’s additionally a gradual stream of free content material which, mixed with a wholesome serving to of missions, makes it very a lot the ‘Animal Crossing however with Disney characters and quests’ expertise I hoped it will be ever because it was first introduced.
For many who are extra critically into the sport, there have been two paid expansions. A Rift in Time launched in December 2023 added a brand new location known as Eternity Isle and a few new characters – Rapunzel, Jafar, Gaston and EVE – together with a bunch of latest missions, substances, recipes, furnishings and clothes.
This was then adopted by The Storybook Vale, a two-part enlargement which launched in November 2024 and July 2025 and added extra new places, options and objects in addition to the arrival of Merida, Flynn, Hades, Maleficent and Aurora.
My daughter and I’ve totally loved each of those expansions, so after I was supplied the possibility to take a look at a hands-off demonstration of the third one, Wishblossom Ranch, and have its new options demonstrated to me, I couldn’t probably refuse. For my child’s sake, you perceive.
As beforehand acknowledged, professionalism is essential in these conditions, and so regardless of my household’s love for Dreamlight Valley I didn’t give far more away than a “sure, I’m acquainted with the sport”, in response to a query normally requested to the press when seeing an enlargement or a sequel. It was after I noticed what was being added that the fanboy slipped out.
Because the identify suggests, Wishblossom Ranch provides horses to the sport. Animal companions have been there for the reason that begin, however they’ve at all times tended to be smaller creatures who stroll alongside you. This new enlargement marks the primary time you may really get rideable mounts.
There’s a secure the place you may retailer quite a lot of horses, and also you even have the power to customize these horses by naming them and selecting the color of their coat, mane and the like. You can too select totally different saddles and numerous different beauty objects to your horse, which clearly acts as one other alternative for Gameloft so as to add new objects regularly via in-game retailers, occasions, battle passes and the like.
As with the opposite animal companions in Dreamlight Valley, Wishblossom Ranch may also function a mixture of commonplace, customisable horses and ‘actual’ horses from Disney films. The primary of those might be Maximus from Tangled, however given the variety of well-known Disney steeds I’d be surprised if additional down the road we didn’t see the likes of Philippe from Magnificence and the Beast, Sven from Frozen and perhaps even Bullseye from Toy Story (although given how Woody and Buzz are true-to-size on this recreation, perhaps not).
New characters are naturally additionally going to be included in Wishblossom Ranch, and I used to be proven the primary two of them, Snow White and Tinker Bell. Extra are coming, I used to be assured, however Gameloft is holding its playing cards near its chest till nearer to the enlargement’s November launch. And sure, extra new recipes are coming, I used to be additionally instructed.
All these new additions are all nicely and good, however as a lot because the addition of rideable mounts is gorgeous sufficient, it’s what they’ll really do which obtained me essentially the most excited for the brand new enlargement. For those who’re studying this and also you additionally play the sport frequently, I simply have to say two phrases to pique your curiosity too: pumpkin farming.
From early on within the enlargement you’ll be capable of experience your horse, which clearly has its personal advantages. Till now, operating across the Valley has been fairly a sluggish affair, and the one strategy to pace this up is to eat particular meals which improve your vitality past its most. When you’ve got this ‘nicely fed’ bonus you run a bit quicker and may use a form of gliding dash method to maneuver quicker, however this decreases your vitality meter and stops when the surplus vitality runs out.
By using your horse across the valley, you may decide up a gallop that means that you can journey round a lot faster, and from what I may let you know don’t have to have additional ‘nicely fed’ vitality to do that. This alone will save loads of time for some gamers.
The builders displaying me the sport defined how how work had gone into ensuring that using a horse across the Valley didn’t really feel any extra clumsy or awkward than merely strolling round it usually – a godsend for gamers who’ve constructed intricately detailed Valleys that will have been a battle to navigate round with a bigger character.
Even higher, although, is the additional skills your horse can be taught over time. I used to be proven another skills that are acquired later within the recreation – it’s not but clear if that is via levelling up the horse such as you do with different companions, or by buying them in particular quests, however the primary takeaway is that your horse can ultimately do extra than simply gallop round.
One among these new skills is stomping giant dust holes within the floor. Whereas gamers can dig an ordinary gap which takes up a single sq. on the map’s invisible grid, a horse can ultimately carry out a stomp transfer which makes a bigger group of holes seem directly.
This was what made my eyes open wider. Anybody who performs Dreamlight Valley critically is aware of that the simpler strategy to earn money is by farming pumpkins. A pumpkin seed prices 275 cash, and a harvested pumpkin sells for 664. Carry a companion with the Gardening skill with you if you harvest them and so they’ll throw additional pumpkins at you too, that means you can also make loads of more money off that single seed.
Naturally, this implies greedier varieties – um, akin to me – have turned entire sections of their Valley into pumpkin farms, which entails digging a bunch of holes, planting a load of seeds, watering all of them and harvesting all of them. This can be a very prolonged course of, and on multiple night I’ve actually fallen asleep on the sofa with the A button held down on my Xbox controller as my character’s been planting pumpkin seeds.
The flexibility to stomp a number of holes directly is a giant time-saver for gamers who finishing up these farming schemes, however the actuality is that gamers who frequently farm pumpkins solely really want to dig holes as soon as then preserve planting seeds in them every time they harvest. It’s watering them which actually takes up time.
That’s why, after I was proven a horse strolling via a subject of crops with a watering can in its mouth, rapidly watering all of the vegetation it walked over, the masks lastly slipped.
Watering a number of crops is kind of a fiddly course of in Dreamlight Valley, however this now appears to be like prefer it’s going to be so simple as simply strolling over them. Granted, you continue to lose vitality as you normally do, however preserve some meals with you and it’s nonetheless going to be a a lot quicker course of. I needed to present my hand.
“Thanks a lot,” I blurted out. “You’ve simply saved me hours of pumpkin farming time.” Displaying bias is one factor, however telling a developer you’re somebody who not solely performs their recreation however frequently carries out a time-consuming, repetitive activity to make straightforward cash in it – one thing a few of the gamers take into account an inexpensive exploit – ought to most likely be a no-no, however as a substitute they merely laughed and mentioned “you’re welcome”. Don’t fear, pumpkin farmers, it appears to be like like we’re nonetheless positive.
Wishblossom Ranch is coming in November 2025, and Gameloft has a showcase deliberate for October 15 the place these horse skills will little question be demonstrated in additional depth, and we would even see a few of these unannounced new characters.
What’s clear from the half-hour demonstration I used to be proven, nonetheless, is that present followers of the sport won’t solely be pleased with the brand new space, the brand new characters and the addition of rideable mounts, however the brand new high quality of life options these mounts convey which may actually make the sport a way more environment friendly and pleasing expertise for individuals who have made Dreamlight Valley a part of their day by day routine.
