While the lineup of heroic Disney princes and princesses certainly have their fans, villains such as Ursula the Sea Witch, Scar from The Lion King, and Belle's would-be-suitor Gaston have plenty of fans, including among fans of the newly released Disney Dreamlight Valley. The game does not neglect these bad guys. Fans of Disney villains will be thrilled to see that their favorite antagonists can move into the valley and become their friends, and aren't simply relegated to plot devices for the overarching story of Disney Dreamlight Valley.
Combining elements of previous life simulation, farming, and crafting games such as Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley, Disney Dreamlight Valley sees the player responsible for locating the titular valley's lost residents and restoring their homes following destruction by a mysterious force called The Forgetting. Upon launch, the game featured only a few Disney and Pixar characters who could move into the Valley, but developer Gameloft has promised that more will be added with regular updates. While some fans feared that the initial lineup would include only the most relevant and popular Disney heroines, such as Elsa and Moana, they were pleasantly surprised to see multiple villains available from the start.
A Brand New Villain Is Behind Everything
Previous games which featured Disney characters, such as the Kingdom Hearts series, tended to relegate villains to a minor and strictly antagonistic role. For example, the first Kingdom Hearts featured an alliance of iconic Disney villains, including Maleficent, Captain Hook, and Jafar, responsible for corrupting protagonist Sora's best friend Riku. However, future games gradually decreased the role of the Disney villains in favor of new original antagonists. In Kingdom Hearts 3, newly added villains such as Frozen's Prince Hans or Monsters Inc's multiple antagonists were barely present. Many fans were concerned that Dreamlight Valley would follow a similar path, but this does not seem to be the case.
The Forgetting is theorized to be caused by a being known variably as the Dark Entity or the Forgotten. Although their full nature has not yet been revealed, it seems likely that the Forgotten is an original character rather than an existing villain. Because they are so mysterious, and much of the game's plot focuses instead on healing the effects of their power, like removing Night Thorns and purifying Night Shards, rather than confronting them directly, they do not overshadow the existing Disney villains at all.
Villains are Welcome in Dreamlight Valley
Two of the characters players can currently meet in Disney Dreamlight Valley are the villains of their respective films: Ursula the Sea Witch from The Little Mermaid and Tangled's Mother Gothel. Both characters are treated no differently than their heroic counterparts - the player can invite them to live in Dreamlight Valley, build a house for them, and increase friendship by giving them gifts or hanging out with them as a Companion in Dreamlight Valley. Mother Gothel's inclusion is particularly surprising, as she appears before the film's heroes Rapunzel and Flynn Rider - in fact, she is currently the game's only Tangled representation.
Some characters ask whether Disney villains should be allowed to live in harmony with heroes, notably the wizard Merlin, who warns the player about Ursula and Mother Gothel's natures before either one is recruited. However, dialogue options allow the player to stand up for the villains, pointing out that they aren't all bad. In particular, the player can repeatedly remind Merlin of Ursula's name when he insists on calling her just "the sea witch." Ursula is even shown as an ally to the Valley, helping to locate Dazzle Beach's missing Orb of Power. This is a surprisingly nuanced take on Disney villains that Dreamlight Valley fans may not have expected.
More Villains are Coming in the Future
While Ursula and Mother Gothel are the only villainous representation in the game so far, more villains will certainly be added to the game in the near future. In particular, Scar from The Lion King appears prominently on the game's loading screen and in trailers, and an area similar to the Elephant Graveyard appears in the Valley's Sunlit Plateau biome. Hans is also a likely addition, as three of his Frozen co-stars, Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff, are already in the game, dwelling in the Frosted Heights. The Forgotten Lands biome, which features darker colors and a grimmer aesthetic than the rest of the Valley, would also be a good potential home for several villains.
The next update to Disney Dreamlight Valley will likely be adding characters from the Pixar film Toy Story, according to an announcement made during Disney and Marvel's game showcase. It is unlikely that this update will add any villains, although Lotso Huggin Bear from Toy Story 3 could make a fun addition with his faux-affable personality and talent for scheming. However, new villains are certainly somewhere on the horizon, and fans of Disney and Pixar's antagonists will likely not have to wait long to befriend their faves and welcome them to Dreamlight Valley.
Disney Dreamlight Valley is available in early access for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
