Lion King fans can look forward to meeting their favorite characters in Disney Dreamlight Valley. The life simulation action-adventure game has had a bombastic first year of release, creating a base of thousands of players during its early access period and adding dozens of new characters, realms, and gameplay features to explore. While Disney Dreamlight Valley is slated for release as a free-to-play game later this year, the game has yet to slow down when releasing new content. During the Nintendo Direct event on February 9th, 2023, new footage of the upcoming Lion King-themed Dreamlight Valley realm was unveiled, including Simba and Nala.
The Nintendo Direct gameplay footage shows players a glimpse at the new jungle-themed realm that many Lion King fans will find familiar. It also gives gamers a peek at new villager characters Simba and Nala - now adults ready to move to Dreamlight Valley together. While Disney Dreamlight Valley is set to receive the "Festival of Friendship" update in the next few weeks, The Lion King-themed content will not be released until April, allowing players to check out the new Lilo & Stitch and Toy Story-themed quest lines included in the holiday update.
The Addition of Both Simba and Nala to Disney Dreamlight Valley is a Refreshing Change
Disney Dreamlight Valley has dozens of iconic Disney characters in the game, including Remy from Ratatouille, Goofy, Donald Duck, and more. Updates have mainly consisted of small quality-of-life changes and content packs that add one - and rarely multiple - characters to the game. This has meant that some characters like Stitch and Mother Gothel are noticeably missing their companion characters. A dissonance is created when a character like Stitch - famously tied to Lilo - appears as a solo character in Dreamlight Valley.
While future updates might see these Lilo, Repunzel, and other much-needed characters added to the game, questions remain about why they weren't included as part of previous updates. The addition of both Simba and Nala is an intelligent move for Dreamlight Valley developer Gameloft Montreal, as including just one character might have caused an upset among The Lion King fans. Hopefully, when Disney Dreamlight Valley is fully released, supporting characters will also be added. After all, it would be incredible to see a Simba and Mufasa reunion in a future realm.
The Lion King Realm Quests and Friendship Items Could Be Take Inspiration From The Franchise
The Lion King franchise has achieved long-enduring popularity - from the release of the 1994 animated film to the photorealistic computer-animated remake released in 2019. There has also been a slew of TheLion King video games, including the 1994 game The Lion King, released for the Sega Genesis and the Super NES. Hopefully, the upcoming Lion King realm will take inspiration from past media, giving fans a dose of nostalgia seen in past updates. For instance, potential quest lines could involve saving the jungle realm, rescuing Simba or Nala from peril, or some crossover event with Scar, who is already in the game.
Disney Dreamlight Valley includes unique items that players can receive through completing quests and raising friendship levels with companion characters. There's ample possibility that The Lion King update will consist of friendship items relating to the franchise. It would be awesome to see decals and wallpaper in the Lion King animation style, statues of Timon, Pumbaa, and other iconic characters, and maybe even a gift inspired by Simba and Nala's epic love story. Since very little is known about the April update, it's not yet been confirmed if Simba and Nala will have separate friendship items and quest lines similar to the Frozen update featuring Elsa and Anna.
Disney Dreamlight Valley is in early access now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
