It’s been almost a year since the first DLC for Disney Dreamlight Valley came out: A Crack in Timeand I just watched the end credits of the story. If you were wondering if this is for you, let’s talk about my experience and what I think about it now that it’s over.
Let’s start with the story. A crack in timeOne of Disney’s most famous villains, Jafar, is making his way to Eternity Isle in an attempt to gain more power with the help of an ancient relic. It’s up to us and our new tool, the Hourglass, to restore balance and undo all the mischief he’s caused before it gets any worse.
This new area gives us more than just a handful of new Pixar and Disney characters to interact with and befriend: we get new areas to explore, each with new materials to collect, new decorative items, new missions, and even a new in-game board game to play with the villagers!
Before I get into the quests and new content, I want to talk about the new zone. As someone who isn’t big on change, I wasn’t too excited about the new area as it was too different from The Valley. Unlike the previous biomes, which were very tempting to decorate for a Disney and fantasy fan, I didn’t feel inspired here. The first location felt cramped and confined, with an almost post-apocalyptic vibe, and the other two were a desert and a jungle. I couldn’t imagine how I could make these locations into something I’d be truly proud of, unlike the base game, and it didn’t help that I didn’t have the items to do it. Thankfully, as the months went by as I kept returning to complete missions and star trails, I became more familiar with Eternity Isle, and just like the original Valley, the ideas eventually just poured in!
That’s one of the great things about the Expansion Pass – the way it gradually delivered content kept me coming back without ever getting bored. I picked up bits and pieces of Eternity Isle here and there, which gave me time to sort out my affairs in the valley and get more comfortable in the new biomes. This was in large part due to all the quests and things to do being so great that I didn’t even mind that it was a mess.
A crack in time feels a lot like the base game but brings a lot more charm. To be honest, I was very skeptical about the expansion because I didn’t feel like decorating the new areas and I didn’t like most of the characters that were added. It was the charming quests and the obvious improvements to the game that kept me coming back and the more I was able to do, the more excited I became!
This is in part thanks to the humor behind the dialogue and quests. Gaston was a fantastic addition and the missions felt more satisfying and fleshed out than those in The Valley. This is especially true the deeper you go as the budget allows for some great cutscenes that breathe life into the experience, unlike the base game where most things fade to black and you’re left to make things up yourself.
Aside from him, you’ll also meet EVE, Rapunzel, Oswald, and Jafar, all with their friendship quests (and associated rewards) and general mission involvement. While my time with Gaston was fun because I’m always up for some humorous dialogue, Oswald takes the top spot for the most unique quests in general! Not only is his introduction different than the others (I won’t explain how to avoid spoilers), but the quests felt like ones you might find in an adventure title! While they didn’t have their own realms, I didn’t feel like anything was missing – if anything, my adventure with the monochrome rabbit just left me curious to see what was coming next!
Another mechanic that I ended up really enjoying is the hourglass. This new tool lets you get all sorts of new materials, aside from the new ones in the biomes. While you can use it to craft items – really nice ones that pay homage to the movies – you can also just put them up as decorations. Rapunzel’s lantern and Jack Skellington’s flask are great examples! Depending on which villagers you take with you, you can pull different items from the time rifts, and these are essential for some of the coolest furniture.
While I love decorating, I think my favorite aspect of the new crafting system and items are the old machines. There are three types in total: one that cooks, one that gardens, and one that gathers. As someone who doesn’t have a lot of time to log in and do things every day, I started to fall behind and feel overwhelmed when I needed to gather materials. I also ran out of coins because I didn’t have time to farm either. Now, as long as I spend some time gathering Mist (the new Dreamlight), I can automate everything else, which means I always have enough meals for energy or to sell, as well as crops and materials.
In its own way, this has also brought more life into the game. I’ve made it a point to decorate restaurants around Eternity Isle and The Valley before placing an Ancient Cooker there. Even though the places remain empty, I have a reason to go into buildings and spruce them up inside! Plus, I don’t have to waste time collecting rarer resources like the dreaded Dry Wood.
A crack in time feels very different from the base game, and although I didn’t like the idea at first, it ended up winning me over. I had a blast decorating the new areas and stepping out of my comfort zone by breaking the mundanity of always creating cutesy, classic fantasy themes. Now I’ve filled the jungle with tents and built a whole adventure there, and in the desert I have a marketplace that I love to visit! The same goes for the characters: although I didn’t like them much at first, Gaston ended up being one of my favorites!
With more shine, tons of new content and items, and more of everything Disney Dreamlight Valley such a great experience, I just don’t see any reason why a fan shouldn’t pick up A Rift in Time. It might not be your cup of tea right away, but it offers a whole new horizon to explore, as well as plenty of new quests, items and challenges! For those who are just getting started Disney Dreamlight ValleyI would say, however, that you should wait (unless you are desperate to find the Ancient Machines; I wouldn’t blame you). While A crack in time is a fantastic experience and is best played after the storyline of The Forgotten. Honestly, I can’t wait for the next expansion.
