[6] However, its early access success led to Gameloft cancelling the free-to-play plans in October 2023, making the game a premium title permanently.

The player can earn a currency called "Star Coins" during gameplay, usually by selling most items in their inventory to Goofy at various stalls run by him throughout the valley.

While many villagers fled to their home realms for protection, others stayed and became trapped as Dreamlight Valley was overrun by Night Thorns and fell into disrepair.

With Merlin's help, the player is able to use their own magic, known as "Dreamlight", to clear away the Giant Night Thorns blocking access to the house resembling their own from back in reality.

Receiving a call for help in their mail from a mysterious figure known only as "The Keeper of the Lore", the player travels from the Stardust Port to a new island known as Storybook Vale.

It is also revealed that the loss of the Lorekeeper's magic was due to something she calls the Neverafter, which was created by a conflict between two Disney Villains that lived on Storybook Vale: the Olympian God of the Underworld, Hades, and the Mistress of all Evil herself, Maleficent.

After freeing Flynn and recruiting him for help, the player also finds Hades in Mythopia, who only agrees to work things out with Maleficent if he is returned to Mount Olympus.

The players learns that in order to reach Mount Olympus and Maleficent's castle, they must complete various Fairy Tale and Mythic Trials across Storybook Vale.

After finally returning Hades to Mount Olympus, as well as meeting Maleficent in her castle, the two villains refuse to reconcile, blaming each other for curses that happened to them before the Neverafter.

In order to solve what's really going on, the Lorekeeper realizes the player must find the final missing villager of Storybook Vale; Princess Aurora.

[10] Several other characters have been announced to be added in later updates: Additionally, Pua and Heihei from Moana and Figaro, originally from Pinocchio and Minnie Mouse's pet in later media, all appear as unlockable companions (pets) for the player, with Pua unlocked during one of Moana's friendship quests, and Heihei and Figaro being premium purchases.

[4] However, in a blog post published in October 2023, Gameloft announced that they had decided to reverse their free-to-play plans, leaving the game as a pay-for title upon full release on December 5, 2023.

[primary 2][1][2] The game features the voice acting of Ashley Adler, Tony Anselmo, Tim Allen, Jeff Bennett, Jodi Benson, Danielle Bisutti, Abby Trott, Ben Burtt, Cam Clarke, Chris Sanders, Pat Carroll, Kaitlyn Robrock, Auli'i Cravalho, Enn Reitel, Barbara Dirickson, Patton Oswalt, Bill Farmer, Donna Murphy, Jake Green, Matt Lowe, Jim Hanks, Moira Kelly, Jess Harnell, Bret Iwan, James Horan, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Jonathan Freeman, Richard White, Mandy Moore, Chris Sarandon, Stephanie Beatriz, Carlos Alazraqui & John Goodman reprising their roles from various Disney films and television series.

The Storybook Vale expansion, set to launch on November 20, 2024, will introduce new characters, including Flynn Rider, Merida, Hades, and Maleficent.

Additionally, the Sew Delightful free update, arriving on December 4, 2024, will add the Frost & Fairies Star Path and floating islands to expand biome space.

[21] Travis Northrup of IGN called the game an "awesome life simulator that flexes its iconic characters to riveting, satisfying effect," asserted the story manages to be clever and creative, appreciated the relationships players can forge with the villagers across their different quests, and complimented the customization of the player character and their environment, stating, "Disney Dreamlight Valley feels impressively like a finished product for an early access game.

[22] Holly Alice of Pocket Tactics named Disney Dreamlight Valley one of the best life simulation games available on Nintendo Switch and mobile devices.

[25] Sam Loveridge of GamesRadar+ appreciated the quality-to-life improvements to the game's tools in contrast to Animal Crossing and liked the presence of the Disney characters that lived in the titular Dreamlight Valley, which she said had "some truly brilliant dialogue and narrative flourishes,"[26] while saying that certain resources were too scarce.

[28] Jack Brassell of Pocket Gamer gave Disney Dreamlight Valley Arcade Edition a score of 4.5/5 stars and described it as an engaging life simulation experience, appreciated the setting, gameplay, and the cosmetics, saying the game offers the "best aspects" of The Sims franchise to iPhone and iPad devices.

[31][32][33] On September 15, 2022, the official Disney Dreamlight Valley Twitter account announced that over one million players have played the game ten days after its release.

[primary 4][34][35] In December 2023, Gameloft revealed that over five million players have played during the early access period of Disney Dreamlight Valley.