Disney Dreamlight Valleyis a cozy game experience that lets players engage with their favorite Disney characters. By helping the villagers with quests and building relationships with them,Disney Dreamlight Valleyplayers are able to shape the world to their liking.
One of the most appealing aspects of the game is how Disney characters from different franchises all co-exist and interact with each other. Some ofDisney Dreamlight Valley’s villagers are great to live alongside, but others can be difficult. This mainly applies to the villains, but with time and effort, players can rehabilitate them so they live peacefully with other inhabitants. However, the recent inclusion of Maleficent in the game has a dark twist on this concept.
Dreamlight Valley’s Maleficent Is Unlike Its Other Villains
DDV Usually Believes Its Villains Can Do Good
Making a purely evil character redeemable seems like an impossible task, but this is something thatDisney Dreamlight Valleyoften excels at. Some of the most heinous antagonists throughout Disney media are shown to be capable of changing their ways when working with the player. One ofDisney Dreamlight Valley’s best villagers is Scar, who seeks to be a ruler, but is willing to keep to his own part of the land if the player is willing to restore it for him.Disney Dreamlight Valleytries to go out of its way to show that no villain is incapable of changing.
Some villains are much more difficult to rehabilitate than others, with some only putting an end to their antagonistic ways when the player continues to thwart their efforts, making their efforts futile. It takes a lot of work from the player tobuild friendships with theseDisney Dreamlight Valleycharactersfor them to eventually see the error in their ways. Maleficent seems to be the exception to this rule, though, perhaps being too far gone.
Maleficent May Be Too Irredeemable
Maleficent is often considered one ofDisney’s most evil villains. She earns her title as the Mistress of All Evil as she revels in her cruelty, incurring fear in all those who cross her path. She is a favorite character of many, with a dark yet charismatic energy that fans love to hate. Her portrayals in most media show her to be irredeemable, incapable of anything but villainy, and her appearance inDisney Dreamlight Valleyproves this to be true.
At the start ofThe Unwritten Realms questline, players are informed that Maleficent’s story will be erased from existence. With each task required of the player, her erasure becomes more and more imminent. The Lorekeeper presents this as a benefit, mentioning that Maleficent is the cause of the Story Sickness in The Storybook Vale, but by choosing to give her a second chance and returning her Anchor Moment, it is revealed that this was never true. For a moment, it seems there is hope for Maleficent.
This is untilThe Two Flames United quest, where Maleficent and Hades temporarily set their differences aside to strengthen their flames and take over Dreamlight Valley. The player must find their way to the Heart of Stories, where they are able to change Maleficent’s story by writing memos into The Typewriter, ensuring that she can live among the other villagers in peace. This storyline proves the tenacity of Maleficent’s will, requiring the player to take extreme measures to reform her, as she is seemingly too evil to do so herself.
Maleficent’s Questline Is Morally Questionable
After saving Maleficent’s story from being erased, players are rewarded with a version of the character who is unrecognizable from her past self. This fits thecozy vibe ofDisney Dreamlight Valley, having all the characters cooperate wherever possible. However, having players rewrite her story is a dark point in The Storybook Vale plot. Instead of being able to talk her down from her plan for takeover, the urgency of the situation makes the avatar character do something that players may not agree with.
Maleficent’s quest isn’t the first time the player has been forced to take extreme measures. To ward off Mother Gothel’s Dark Magic, Ursula expresses to the player that the only counter to this is forKristoff to sacrifice his memoriesof his love for Anna. The player is given a dialog choice, and can answer that this would be too awful, but they are forced to go along with Ursula regardless of this. This sacrifice is for the greater good of Dreamlight Valley, even if players disagree with the action. For Maleficent, however, the player character willingly goes along with this, with the only expression of regret being in an optional dialog prompt that they “feel a little weird” after her memories have already been rewritten.
What makes Maleficent’s rehabilitation more difficult is how it relates to the main themes of the game. The plot ofDisney Dreamlight Valleyis initially focused on The Forgetting, a curse that causes the characters to lose their memories of themselves and each other. By having the player and The Typewriter rewrite Maleficent’s nature, she forgets who she is. The Lorekeeper describes this as a heavy but necessary responsibility to stop the other villagers from suffering. The game also shows that it didn’t harm Maleficent, sharing with the player that she finally feels content, grateful to have changed. After portraying The Forgetting so negatively, it’s difficult to see the decision to wipe Maleficent’s memories as anything but morally gray.
Thequests inDisney Dreamlight Valleyare often a great way for players to feel like they have an impact, making positive changes to the people around them and building a community of their favorite Disney heroes and villains. The addition of Maleficent in The Storybook Vale is perfect for fans of the character, but the method to rehabilitate her seems much darker than previous villains, showing the drastic methods players must take in order to keep the piece in Dreamlight Valley.
