As much as Disney Dreamlight Valley is making waves in the world of simulation games, Animal Crossing continues to hold its ground as a beloved classic. However, even giants like Animal Crossing can learn a trick or two from newcomers. Disney Dreamlight Valley might offer just the right feature to enhance the Animal Crossing experience in future releases.
Both Animal Crossing and Disney Dreamlight Valley share features that fans love, given they belong to the same gaming category. Yet, each has its unique way of keeping quests and daily tasks engaging for players. Disney’s innovative approach in this aspect could well be the inspiration Animal Crossing needs to elevate its gameplay in its next update.
One of the standout elements in Disney Dreamlight Valley is its focus on building friendships with the endearing characters from the Disney and Pixar universes. Players work to climb through ten levels of friendship with these characters, collecting delightful rewards along the way. Among the most coveted are delightful motifs, outfits, and furniture items. But reaching Level 2 in these relationships introduces an opportunity that tops even these rewards.
At Level 2, players get to enjoy the “Hang Out” feature, assigning each character a specific role, whether it’s Digging, Gardening, Fishing, Foraging, Mining, Timebending with the Rift in Time DLC, or Snippet Catching in the Storybook Vale DLC. Depending on the character’s role, they assist players in gathering more resources.
What truly sets the Hanging Out experience apart is the way villagers accompany players across different locations within Disney Dreamlight Valley, excluding the Realms. This active participation makes for a lively and immersive gaming experience, unique to this title.
Of course, friends won’t follow players out of realms, and after hanging out or resetting the game, they return to their routines.
Now imagine incorporating such a “Follow the Leader” concept into Animal Crossing. This could add a dynamic twist to day-to-day activities, especially in resource gathering tasks. Animal Crossing: New Horizons introduced a similar Friendship mechanic, albeit using a point system. It wouldn’t require a massive leap in creativity to adapt this system for a follow-the-leader gameplay style. Perhaps villagers could trail players after earning a certain number of friendship points, similar to how Pokémon GO encourages interaction with buddy Pokémon.
Animal Crossing boasts a vast variety of villagers, much more than Disney Dreamlight Valley’s current roster. Its loyal community already cherishes their favorite villagers, making interaction with them more meaningful as they assist in activities like fishing, tree-shaking, and fossil-digging.
As fans eagerly await news about the next Animal Crossing installment, it’s clear the game has plenty of innovative features to look forward to. Perhaps it will take a leaf out of Disney Dreamlight Valley’s book, adopting this charming, game-enhancing feature. As they say, inspiration can come from anywhere, and in this case, it might just make the next Animal Crossing game even more enchanting.
