Tokyo Game Show VR returns for 2023!

You may remember me talking about TGS VR 2021 and 2022 in my post from last year. When they mentioned that TGSVR would be returning for 2023 with “Sky Islands” along with quest and magic systems, I was thrilled. I had tons of fun in 2021 and 2022 was such a huge upgrade in so many ways, even if it was also a bit overwhelming. There was a story and a boss fight and just… it was genuinely really cool.

Unfortunately, while I am still happy TGS VR happened this year (I’d prefer that over it no longer happening at all), it did end up feeling like a bit of a downgrade to say the least.

The customization didn’t feel as fun or unique (maybe if we got to create an avatar like last year and got to pick hats/new hairstyles/outfits/magic type separately), there’s a lot less to do, everything is smaller in general (though, still very pretty), and the end area for finishing everything felt small.

There are no rides, no quizzes (at best, one quest per area requires you to take a photo of the right answer for one of the NPCs), the only interactive thing, besides obviously the magic and some quests, is some NPCs in areas and watching a bike race. You can’t ride along. You can’t actually race yourself. The magic is also linked to whatever costume you’re wearing and only so many even have anything unique.

There are 24 total quests which is down from the 84 Fragments of 2021 and 72 Quests from 2022 (Plus… no cutscenes or rides).

It’s still very pretty and I did enjoy the quest system versus just clicking random objects– I just wish there was more to it, better customization, and more things to interact with. I’ve always really loved the rides.

Anyway, you can check out my playthrough here:

And here are the many photos I took from around the areas, including the Theater which isn’t in the video above.


Edit: September 23rd, my friend Diggeh streamed going through it and I was part of it. Here are some more fun photos from playing together! I’ll also be uploading my PoV soon…

Disney Dreamlight Valley – Ursula’s Daily Deals and the Forgotten

It’s officially been a week now since my last DDLV post which means the Forgotten Questline can be continued! But before we do that, I’ll talk a bit more about Ursula’s Dream Bundle. As I mentioned in my last post, it had felt a bit short, but apparently there were daily quests which are… fine I guess. I feel like WALL-E’s was still more interesting, but maybe because I like the character and what you got from it more.

For the most part, the quests were very simple. Goofy’s was the most involved (needing to gather up some seaweed and red algae which I’ve been hoarding materials so wasn’t really any issue for me) while Moana’s required just gathering some coconuts to take to WALL-E, and Donald’s was mostly just chatting and going to a couple of different places and interacting with some things. Anna’s was also another simple one, though, required you to go at some new ice blocks with a pickaxe for ice shards in addition to snowballs.

We also got some nice character development for Ursula which again makes this feel like it shouldn’t be an extra DLC. Silly side stuff is fine, but the whole making her function like the other characters and character development just doesn’t feel optional to me.

The final quest with Olaf was probably my favorite one. The item reward is neat too.

Besides taking care of Ursula’s new quest and checking the shop, I haven’t really been doing much. There were new memories to grab in Donald’s and Elsa’s houses though.

I also finished the Star Path. I may put some items in the Forgotten Lands, but I’m still kind of undecided on how I want to decorate there. Maybe going through the Forgotten’s Quest will help or if we can do more with the treehouse at some point. I did use some of the pirate items near Donald’s Boat though:

And as you can probably guess by this post going up, a week finally passed which meant we had the Forgotten’s Quest! Which… didn’t take particularly long. I don’t know if there is a follow-up to it. There is more brought up about the Skull Cave, but whether we’ll have anything this update or not, I’m not entirely sure. I’m leaning towards no due to how it’s worded, but maybe there will be more to this questline. I guess we’ll just have to see next week (and I’ll edit this if so).

The quest essentially had you helping the Forgotten still find beauty in ‘ordinary’ things. They ask to see “one yellow flower in the Forgotten Lands”, a “really neat bird with dark feathers”, and the “giant skull near Dazzle Beach”. Simple enough– for anyone having issues with the first two, the only yellow flower that grows in the Forgotten Lands is the Yellow Nastrutium and the bird is specifically the Classic Raven which is the completely black one– no other Raven will count.

The Classic Raven is only available Monday, Thursday, and Saturday so if you don’t have it befriended, you may need to wait until a different day to take a photo of it.

Once that’s done, the Forgotten asks for us to make a room for them inside of our house which is… surprising. I really expected the Treehouse to get fixed up or something, but okay. I did my best to make a nice space at least. I have no idea what other rooms to put on the 3rd floor though… I’ll have to see if I get inspired.

Of course, the Forgotten’s Quest didn’t end up being the only thing waiting today. Olaf also had a follow-up quest about the 100 Sticks he asked for from the Fairy Godmother. It was… Something. I kind of wish it was a unique item over 10 Sturdy Chairs, but oh well.

Finally, I ended up working on the latest DreamSnaps. I actually really liked the outfit I made for it so I ended up adding another mannequin to the Sewing Room.

I also ended up getting one of the new bundles in the Premium shop since I like exploration-esque stuff (maybe that could be one of the rooms?) and if I see the word “fountain”, I kind of need it, but… the Fountain is kind of disappointing. You can’t use the stairs on the item so you can barely see beyond the dripping without playing around with the camera.

It’s also huge. I don’t know if I’ll keep it there, but it works for now.

Pokemon Violet – The Teal Mask DLC

It’s odd. I thought I had written a post about Pokemon Violet, but apparently, I never finished it and just ended up putting all the screenshots in a game summary page. So, before I get to the DLC, I guess I’ll talk a little about the game itself.

Overall, the short and simpleness of it is that I’ve mostly been mixed on it. I don’t dislike it and I do find it a less overwhelming than I found Arceus (even if most people prefer the latter), but I don’t like big changes in plot based off version and this Pokemon went a lot of… unique directions story-wise that were pretty depressing.

I like the cutscenes, but the lack of any voices makes them feel somewhat flat as even the music doesn’t really make up for it which at least Silent Pictures usually had. At the very least, I always appreciate when my character shows actual emotion during scenes and isn’t smiling the entire time.

The uniform system is so frustrating, and it blows my mind how one game can have a lot of options and the next can be a downgrade in some (or in this case, many) ways. I think I’d be less frustrated if there was at least a more feminine option? I hate that it’s all pants and shorts.

I’m also not one to shiny hunt or anything, but I’m not entirely sure why the whole… sparkle effect was made so mundane in this version.

Finally, it blows my mind that we have our own Dorm and can’t customize it at all, especially when we can visit our friends’ dorms and they are all decorated to some extent for them and it feels like a missed opportunity.

Overall, I still did have fun with the game. I like the picnic customization options we have (and we even can customize chairs now with the DLC) and I do find the characters interesting. I also really love the commemorative photos after each milestone.

Regardless, onto the DLC! There will be spoilers so if you don’t want any details of what to expect, maybe stop reading here.

It took me a while to figure out how to actually start it since I… uh… expected it to be our usual teacher and ran past the NPC by the entrance. Oops. In my defense, Jacq did call us so I expected to see him.

Anyway, there is a special field trip, but for whatever reason students are only chosen by raffle, only four were even chosen from your school (including yourself) and two from another school– Blueberry Academy from Unova and the other three going with you are three students you’ve never met before and are barely even named.

Regardless, we made it safely to Kitakami.

Unfortunately, Hat Kid ended up getting motion sickness from the bus ride and so we’re send into town where we run into the Blueberry Academy kids, Carmine and Kieran. In all honesty, I think I would’ve preferred sticking with our unnamed friends. Carmine rubbed me the wrong way from the start and while she gets better later, she’s still kind of a lot?

Kieran was a bit of the reverse being a lot more mellow and he just gets… weirder as the story goes on and that’s putting it lightly before his whatever kind of meltdown happens at the end leaving the story on a cliffhanger. Of course, we’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves so…

After battling Carmine, we finally get to head to where we’d be staying and met the Caretaker who went to check on poor carsick Hat boy.

It turns out that Carmine and Kieran are actually from here so instead of staying with everyone else, they’re going to be living at their Grandparents’ house for the trip instead. Despite the split, our big field trip activity is Orienteering– we need to find three signs in pairs of two and to get everyone better acquainted, we need to pair up with one of the Blueberry Academy students. We ended up getting paired up with Kieran who really likes us at the moment which I mean, if I had to pick at the time, I was going to pick him because Carmine has been kind of… rude to say the least.

My favorite part of this was getting the cute photo spots again. It’s also kind of fun seeing Kieran slowly warm up to us as we get each spot.

The big plot of the DLC is that Briar, the field trip organizer, is looking into information in regards to the mysterious legendary mentioned in the Violet Book which crosses over to the next DLC and specifically with this DLC is the story of the legendaries here: An ogre caused havoc to the town and the “loyal three” chased it off and took the masks it stole. Kieran sympathizes with the Ogre and feels bad for it, thinking maybe it wasn’t so bad.

One of the things I was really excited about were some of the new customization options introduced with the DLC such as changing certain menu screens based off your phone case and/or location and meeting this guy who let me customize my picnic table’s chairs.

The next sign was near the festival area and we even made our way to the Ogre’s home. Alas, they were not there.

It was then time for the Festival! Carmine and Kieran’s grandparents kindly gave us an outfit and did our hair which is… fine. I kind of wish we could’ve chosen a color. I also don’t know why this game has to have everything have pants. Let me have a skirt. Even if it’s over the pants.


I decided to keep the hair, but I just… I need to be in pink, okay? Regardless, this is also one of the few times you find out about Carmine being more considerate of you… Just not to your face.

Alas, you do not have a mask and the mask salesperson is MIA (also when you do get masks, you have to wear them on your face– you can’t wear them on the side of your head like Carmine and Kieran :( ).

Regardless, you still get to check out the festival and even play a new minigame.

I actually had some fun with the minigame for a point… until they added in Pokemon that will eat everything you gathered up when there is already a timer stressing me out and then it wasn’t fun for me anymore.

You then run off due to noticing a unique figure and Carmine ends up coming after you. Turns out you’ve run into the Ogre! And they’re adorable.

While running away, our poor Ogre friend runs off and drops their mask in the process.

Unfortunately, we are not able to return it :( We end up bringing it to Carmine and Kieran’s Grandpa in hopes he can repair the mask as it was damaged when it fell.

It is here we learn the truth– the Ogre’s real name is Ogrepon and it was actually the victim of the story. Ogrepon and a friend were initially not welcomed due to being seen as scary so they wore masks to blend in better and make friends. The “loyal three” stole the masks and Ogrepon got revenge due to the three hurting the friend. Carmine is very upset about this, but Grandpa says we shouldn’t tell anyone because it could cause an uproar.

To make matters worse, Carmine also doesn’t want us telling Kieran anything because she thinks he’ll get upset that we saw the Ogre without him. Kieran, who overhears things to some extent but us being sworn to secrecy just makes him feel left out anyway. I really wish we could’ve either told him the truth or at least explained why Carmine didn’t want us to and that he should ask her about it versus flat out lying to him.

Meanwhile, in my constant tendency to get side-tracked, I noticed Mr. Jacq followed us anyway. He invites us to a picnic and gives us an egg. (I hatched it eventually– I got a female Piplup)

It was then time to head to our final sign. Unsurprisingly, our pair finished first even with us taking a long break between the second and third signs.

We then meet back up with Carmine to try and find the crystal to prepare Ogrepon’s mask.

We then head to the Monument of the “Loyal Three” which Carmine is pretty upset about and then for whatever reason… The three come back to life, destroying the monument in the process.

With the Teal Mask fixed and out of concern for Ogrepon, we rush off to Ogrepon’s home and just look at her adorable face:

It was here when I noticed that Purrin was hanging out in town. I’m not sure how soon she gets there, but we were a little short of her requirements (need 150 in the Kitakami Pokedex) and still in the middle of the story so her quest would have to wait.

Regardless, going back to the main story, our next goal ended up being to get those masks back for Ogrepon as unfortunately, the Caretaker at the Shrine gave them back to the “Loyal Three” due to not knowing they’re the villains of this story. Kieran decided not to join us to re-get the masks so it was just Carmine, Ogrepon, and I doing our best as we took on the Evil Three to retrieve the masks.

While we were busy on mask retrieval duty, Kieran decided to tell everyone Ogrepon’s true tale despite his Grandpa’s worries. In the end, it all worked out thankfully.

It was then Ogrepon wanted to stay with us due to all the help which Kieran did not take well. After losing yet again, he was… not happy to say the least. But look at how cute Ogrepon is.

And after a bit more battles and things, our story was over… for now. After credits, we also see Kieran slowly going evil which feels like a lot to worry about, but nothing we can do about it now apparently.

Of course, there were still various post-game things to do. For one, we had to apparently earn a million pokedollars to rebuild the monument…

I then headed to catch the other three legendaries. 2/3 I managed to get with Quick Balls (even if I accidentally knocked one out multiple times) while one required loyal health and a lot of ball throwing attempts.

It was then off to meet back up with Perrin. She wants to try and find a special version of Ursaluna who… honestly, looks like they’ve gone through some stuff and need some hugs? I don’t know what happened, but Blood Moon Ursaluna is kind of terrifuing.

The photography was actually really fun and I’m kind of sad it ended up being a short one-time thing. I really would’ve preferred more of that than the other minigame.

With that done, my next goal was finishing up the Pokedex here.


Of course, that left one goal still undone… Finishing up the Monument Pokedollar raising. And that’s where Billy and O’Nare come in– an eccentric rich couple who refer to themselves as Glitterati and will end up giving you more than enough to rebuild the Monument and still have quite a bit left over.

You’ll have to find them various places across both maps, but it’s definitely an interesting side quest.

With that done, it was time to fix up the monument which uses the exact same assets was even rebuilt with all the pre-existing scratches and everything! What a dutiful job. I honestly was kind of bummed with this– I really would’ve liked to see it get upgraded and also add Ogrepon in :/

Anyway, you earn this for completing the monument and that’s it.

I’m really excited for the next DLC and to see everything left hanging in this one get resolved.

Disney Dreamlight Valley – Belle is finally here!!

If you prefer videos, you can watch my playthrough of everything I mention here over on Youtube!

Today is going to be quite the packed day, but I’m so happy I’ll finally be able to have Belle in my Valley. To start, I did end up going over the Meadow with more paths last night:

I think the main difference for me is the rounded corners and here those just add a lot more than the sharp edges. Other places still look better with natural pathing. I may consider changing things up in Frosted Heights and maybe also the Forgotten Lands, but I think the natural look may be nicer more or less everywhere else. Or maybe at least parts of Sunlit Plateau.

Regardless, it is officially update day! Which also meant I was overwhelmed by many things. As much as I wanted to start everything with Beauty and the Beast first, I had hoped to focus on the Forgotten stuff to begin with incase of any gating.

Ursula’s quest I’d save for last, but hopefully I can get through things pretty quickly as I remember WALL-E’s quest having some specific times required and we have a lot to do today between the Beauty and the Beast realm, new friendship quests, the Forgotten, and Ursula’s whole thing.

That said, if you already have played today, you’d know that wasn’t actually possible as the Forgotten’s Quest won’t unlock until September 20th, 2023 at the earliest– it unlocks a week after you’ve finished the main story questline or if you finished it before this update, a week after the update launches… thus, not until the 20th. I expected some timegating, but not to even start it :(

With such a busy week ahead, I’m pretty bummed. It’s going to be hard balancing everything. I did check out some new stuff as well and did end up grabbing one thing I couldn’t resist from the Premium Shop… I’m sad the house isn’t actually usable though.

Regardless, with that plan unable to be started, it was time to get to the Beauty and the Beast realm.

The Castle was honestly so pretty. I adored it so much.



I wish my house could have this fancy kind of layout…

Unsurprisingly, Belle was found in the library. Oh, to have a giant library and a fireplace…

The entire questline was really fun and I loved the whole secret passage and figuring out riddles and stuff. I won’t spoil everything, but here are some nice screenshots:


And if you’re struggling with finding the pieces of the key: Dig up a hole in the garden, water the fireplace (shown above), and break the Lion with a pickaxe to get all the pieces. I felt awful doing that last one though and putting out the fire…

Belle moved into the Valley first, but it didn’t take long for Beast to arrive at all.


I will say the inside of their castle is kind of a let-down though. After seeing the Realm, I really expected something more grand… Or at least more than one room? Even Prince Eric’s castle is bigger…

Unsurprisingly, I had to move things around to make room for the castle, but I think it worked out more or less.

It was then time for the friendship grind and I started with Belle’s questline. Firstly, I have to say how much I love some of the new items. I haven’t quite figured out a place yet for where to put the new columns, but I did try and force this adorable reading nook somewhere:

I wish I had a reading nook…

I loved Belle’s questline a lot. There were a lot of neat mystery-esque stuff and knowing we essentially had our own mystery group together warmed my heart.

If you’re struggling with the Translation Machine answers, it’s:
-Phillipe
-During Chapter 3
-A Clock

Similarly, the symbols you can find for the chest– one is literally right next to the chest when at Ariel’s island, one is by the door in Frosted Heights, one in on a rock near the lake in Glade of Trust, and one is on a rock near the crystals in Forgotten Lands.


You can find these even if it isn’t night– just I’m guessing they glow at night which probably helps them stand out more.

In alignment with the mystery theme, the Star Path tasks are actually riddles in and of itself too which is interesting. I’ve found them pretty simple, but I’ve seen so many people asking that I’m not sure if this was really the right way to go about it. For those who need some help:
-Uproot the Forgetting = Remove Nightthorns
-Break some rocks = Mine the mining spots/rocks
-Spend time with some Classic Friends = Hang out with anyone from the Mickey & Friends group in Collection
-Better to give than receive = Give gifts
-Build Stuff = Craft items
-Goofy’s Favorite Pasttime = Fishing
-Pick the fruits that put Snow White to sleep = Apples
-Cook meals that would never make the cut at Chez Remy = Cook 1 Star Meals (which are served there so uh– this feels poorly done considering the star ranks are by ingredients, not meal quality)
-Make small talk = Daily Discussions
-Stuff your face with second-class meals = Eat 2 or higher star meals
-Very valuable rocks = Mine gems
-Sorcerer’s Apprentice = Mickey
-Impress a Wizard with something he loves = Give Merlin his favorite gifts
-Work a shift at the Restaurant/Serve up some delicious orders = Serve meals at Remy’s restaurant
-Catch a rainbow-y fish = Catch Rainbow Trout
-Pick red flowers that grow only in the Peaceful Meadow – Red Daisies
-Bond with your animal companions – Pet whatever Critter you have equipped
-A very speedy princess = Vanellope
-Engage in Scrooge McDuck’s Favorite Hobby, Increase your coin “collection”, Add to your Riches – Make Star Coins
-Lime-green Gem = Peridot
-Legendary Village of the Wind and Sea = Maui
-Exceptionally Unexceptional Villager = Mirabel
-Fish popular in Arendelle = Herring
-Villager that says “WAKKK” = Donald
-Villager who is the best dealmaker = Ursula
-Fish’s name that rhymes with Dream = Bream
-Finest Lute Player = Kristoff
-Perfectly Mediocre Meals = 3 Star Meals
-Olaf’s nose = Carrots
-Ice Queen = Elsa
-Blue stones with a watery name = Aquamarine
-Villainous side = Scar, Mother Gothel, Ursula, etc.
-Sea Witch = Ursula
-ALMOST perfect meal = 4 Star Meal
-Fish’s name that rhymes with Harp = Carp
-Shoreline Shellfish = Scallops, Mussels, and Clams (any you get from picking up on the Beach)
-Iron-rich leafy green = Spinach
-Woman from the Willow = Mother Gothel
-Cross some items off your regal to-do list = Dreamlight Duties
-Pint-sized Sheriff = Woody
-Grouchy Lion = Scar
-Fish for something with claws = Lobster
-Harvest something sweet = Sugarcane
-Gather what’s needed for Anna’s favorite treat (Chocolate) = Cocoa Beans
-Pint-sized Space Ranger = Buzz
-Special crystals underground = Vitalys Crystals
-Tiny chef = Remy
-Potion to boost your mining ability = Miracle Pickaxe Polish (you can do either one). If you don’t have this at your crafting bench, you need to finish more or Merlin’s quests and the story.
-Fish for something small in size and name = Shrimp
-Finest Chef Creations = 5 Star Meals
-A Very Hairy Prince = The Beast
-King of the Jungle = Simba
-Mine something shiny and green = Shiny Emeralds
-White Fish in a Chilly Biome = White Sturgeon
-Pick some blooms the color of a Citrus Fruit = Pick yellow or orange flowers
-Do some VERY fine dining = Eat 5 Star Meals
-Book-loving beauty = Belle
I’ve only listed tasks I’ve seen people ask about– if you’re curious about one not listed, feel free to ask!

Continuing to switch things up, once I had Belle’s questline done, I decided to work on Ursula’s as I knew it had some timegating as well. I figured while a timegate was happening, I could work on Beast’s.

Honestly, was pretty excited about the necklace. Not sure if I’ll keep it or go back to the one I was wearing before. I guess let me know which you think looks nicer?

Going back and forth between the two went okay as both had some gating in the end. Ursula required 15 minutes and 1 hour at two different points. The Beast’s required waiting until evening (About 6PM Local time) in which you need to hope it’s not raining at all and then during one of his later quests, you need to wait about an hour? I came back after an hour and he had cooled off, but it may have been less than that. I’m not sure.


I will say I absolutely hated the outfit we had to wear in Ursula’s at one point v-v; But at least it wasn’t for long. I also found Ursula’s questline kind of short (edit: apparently there is more after rollover so I guess we continue) and I hated that there weren’t really other options to empathize with the Beast if you’re also an introvert :/

The final thing was setting up the Greenhouse for the Beast which essentially is a flower gathering thing similar to how WALL-E and Moana’s Garden and Boat work/ At the moment, it seems to be the only way to actually get roses. It has 8 upgrades and costs 360K total to upgrade.

With all that done, it’s time to build up on Roses and wait until I can finally do the Forgotten’s Quest…

Disney Dreamlight Valley – The Update is Upon Us

While I did expect to see a trailer or something, I kind of expected the update would be out tomorrow if not last Wednesday. As per usual, I want to talk about some last-minute stuff I’ve been up to along with the patch notes themselves.

Before we get to update stuff, I wanted to talk about my own current adventures lately. As per usual, I’ve been continuing with DreamSnap stuff. I was also really excited about the items included with the last results as they were actually all furniture I needed this time:

I actually ended up putting down all the items.


What I’ve been doing otherwise is slowly replacing some paths. I haven’t decided if I want to replace EVERY path or not yet, but I did replace everything in the Plaza now and some areas of the Meadow. I also added this little sitting area behind my house:

It’s hard to prepare too much in advance for future stuff now. I might do more pathing adjustments as I did MAKE more paths just incase I decided to, but I’m not sure yet. Guess I may work on that tonight.

With that out of the way, let’s talk about the patch notes!

I’ve been so excited for Belle to finally be added and the previews of the upcoming Realm already look super great so that is easily the thing I’m most excited about.

I’m also excited for the new quests with the Forgotten. I’m hoping maybe we can do something with the Treehouse or that area in general. I would say my only concern here is that they specifically outline “over the course of the update” which makes it sound like it’ll require a specific number of days in-between steps similar to how both unlocking Stitch and Buzz’s Alien quests worked which… aren’t fun?

The padding really isn’t needed, and it always blows my mind because if people want to split parts up into days, they will. I’m hoping I’m wrong, but I guess we’ll see soon enough.

I’m really happy to see ‘pouch exclusive’ items will finally be in Scrooge’s shop. I’ve had terrible luck with them and a lot of the items I’ve really wanted have been from them. Now if only there was a better option for memories besides frustrating RNG.

Also happy for anyone who missed out in the Halloween stuff last year that it’ll be returning, though, considering the announcement now, I guess we won’t really see anything new until November. There’s so much happening in November…

It’s nice to hear about the Crafting Productivity adjustments as well, but at the same time I literally just finished making so many paths and fences… My timing is so bad.

With the positive stuff out of the way though, now I have to talk about the negative side of things.

Get ready to stretch those legs! The optional Ursula’s Transformation Dream Bundle arrives in the Premium Shop, introducing a new Dream Style for Ursula that transforms her into her human form, and serves up exclusive quests, outfits, accessories and furniture.

This is pretty awful. I hope the price is at least better than WALL-E’s, but even if it is, Ursula’s transformation should not be tied to a Dream Bundle. I would assume this also means that she can be hung out with then as well and while Ursula isn’t really a character I care for, considering the way hanging out works and how many characters you can plus this genuinely making more options to get her friendship up if you haven’t maxed it yet, this feels awful to lock behind a premium bundle.

Do we have better ways to earn Star Coins now with DreamSnaps? Sure. Is there a chance the price is better than WALL-E’s? Yes. (Though, I feel it may be unlikely as why not just lower WALL-E’s and refund people then? I’m thinking it could unfortunately still be the same price)

But it just feels like too much of a gameplay feature to literally have that transformation locked behind a paywall, even if you can earn the currency in-game. At least the bundle is permanent? It just doesn’t feel right to me though.

The other thing that is kind of bumming me out is:

More optional items are coming to the Premium Shop for a limited time that are bound to fit your seasonal vibe, including an iconic hill, some Disneyland staples, and much more!

Even ignoring my usual point that games like this where customization is such a big part of it that locking items behind a premium shop, especially a weekly rotating one with limited selection, feels pretty frustrating, I just… You’re literally referring to items as iconic and staples and then saying how they’re just optional. People aren’t going to feel like they’re optional like that. Some of these items are likely ones people have been requesting for a long time.

For the most part, I would say I’m still excited for the update, but I am very nervous about upcoming Premium Shop stuff at this point. It really feels like any kind of positive ends up following up with a steep dive off a cliff sometimes and it makes me sad.

Peridot finally fixed things (Updated: 10/3/22)

It’s been a few months and despite all of my earlier complaints, I’ve still been playing it. Partially due to the hole in my heart for these types of games, partially because the Dots are adorable, and finally because despite Niantic’s really frustrating game mechanics sometimes, there’s a lot of genuinely really nice people I’ve met through the game who I not only enjoy talking to but are genuinely so happy to just… help out with stuff. So, while I don’t expect any of them to see this, a shout out to Spriggyn, ToddleMaster270, Schway78, HaroldBird, Fajitas, Chantal, JSet, and the various Hatch-a-Dot groups on Campfire and Discord, among many others plus everyone who kindly approved my Hatch-a-Dot requests before recent changes. It’s only thanks to all these kind people that I was finally able to complete my Archetypes for the time being.

I’m not going to pretend the game is perfect. There’s still a lot of things that could be better and additions I think are needed along with some mechanics needing to be more flexible, but the biggest hindrances of the game have finally been addressed and makes the game playable for those who prefer to play the game more casually and/or solo.

For one, Nests are no longer exclusively real money microtransactions. You can now earn them from certain weeklies, during events, and for every 30 days of logging in (It doesn’t need to be a streak– if you can’t play for a week and come back, it’ll pick up from where you left off). You also earn them from certain level milestones and those who hit the respective levels already were able to claim the missed nests from the store.

Considering how big of a part of the game the Hatch-a-Dot system is, it’s crazy that it took them this long to re-enable ways to get them. Obviously, you can still buy them too (and I still think an option to buy for gems, even if maybe it’s limited per month or something, would be nice in addition to the real money only ones).

Secondly, there’s been an overhaul in general with the Hatch-a-Dot system besides the Next improvements (as mentioned above):

  • Wild Dots are back! Like how it was during Beta, you can now find random Wild Dots at Habitats. This essentially means you don’t need to depend on people (or pay) to get new traits introduced later on for those who prefer playing solo and getting everything themselves.
  • You no longer need to message people to use the Hatch-a-Dot system. Besides Wild Dots, you can also still hatch Dots with friends or other Dots at habitats that are owned by other players. That said, while this is generally a good thing, there are also a handful of downsides:
    • You must be in range of the Habitat like how Pokestops and Flowers work in Pokemon GO and Pikmin Bloom respectively. I do kind of wish they kept that to just Wild Dots or message-less requests as it was nice actually having some kind of option for those who can’t go out much. You still have ‘Nearby Dots’ at least, though, Wild Dots won’t show up on those. Edit as of October 3rd: Not only do Wild Dots show up on nearby now, but you can now Hatch a Dot at any distance again (as long as you can view the habitat on your map)– the caveat is it’ll cost twice as much if they are more than 100km away. You must be in distance of the habitat to have the price back down to its new baseline cost. There are two big downsides though– for whatever reason, Visiting Dots are also now twice as much despite technically being nearby and the baseline is overall higher than it used to be due to the new simplification. With friends, the cost is twice as much if they are more than 1,000km away from you and baseline if less than that.
    • You can’t hold onto requests – Requests generally lasted for about 5 days. This meant you could request a Dot you saw out and hold onto it maybe for a Community Day Weekend or some other kind of special event if one was close by or even just until you saved up a bit more if you knew you were short on Sundrops/Gems.
    • There’s no way to know if the request successfully went through unless someone tells you. Often times, people may ask you to switch out your Dot as you can only breed with a Dot currently out (unless they are at a habitat or on the nearby list). For whatever reason, what may be out on your end doesn’t always update timely for other people as well so with no confirmation or request to confirm, you have no real indication they successfully got it unless they mention as much. Obviously, you can just switch it after a certain amount of time, but I always like to make sure ^^;

    That said, there’s definitely more pros overall, especially if it’s someone who doesn’t play anymore or can’t check often (as requests do expire). You also can see the costs up-front.

I would say the biggest addition needed at this point is some way to see every Dot someone has. Whether you need to be friends first or it’s something that has to be enabled or approved, I think this would be super helpful alongside the changes. There’s a few Dots now I’ve seen from people I’d love to Hatch-a-Dot with but have never seen them put them back out and I know they get enough requests to want to bother them by asking.

This would also prevent the constant need to Dot switch in the first place and issues with lag of when your Dot out even updates in the first place for other people.

Speaking of friends, the friend system has also been updated and while you can only send Sundrops to a friend once a day (previously, you could do so unlimited which meant you could go back and forth even if you had just one friend who played), you can now do so much easier and faster with quick buttons to hit on the friend page, better organization, and no longer being sent back outside the friend’s list every time you accepted a gift of Sundrops.

So, overall, I would say the big thing is the game feels fully playable now and everything is properly accessible for all players, even with some of the more frustrating caveats that are now popping up due to the changes.

Even Community Days can generally be used to their full potential, even if players can’t always get as much out of them. What I’m hoping though is that Hatch-a-Dot tasks that can show up won’t be tied to any limited time event items (as some tasks have started having items attached to them– as someone who does not have any nearby Habitats, it can be a struggle) considering that while they have thankfully added Nests you do not need to buy, they are few and far between. At best, you are guaranteed one every 30 days, but how long it may take you to level will vary a lot (Sometimes I level super quickly, other times not so much– it depends quite a bit).

I find it harder to complete tasks if I don’t have a new Dot I’m raising, but of course that kind of adds in a cycle of needing new nests which isn’t great. I think I’m at a point where I’m genuinely pretty happy with the Dots I have so outside of maybe wanting to get certain Traits I don’t have yet or new Archetypes, I’m not really sure what I’m going to go for.

These are some of my most recent Dots:

One of my rules with Archetypes is I wanted it to be one I genuinely liked which meant sometimes I picked a non-archetype because I liked the look better. This definitely made things more costly (whether in-game currency or not), but it meant I was generally happier with the Dots I got rather than getting ones I didn’t care for.

This isn’t always possible, of course, like Banana is probably one of my least favorite archetypes because not only are the shades of yellow I tend to prefer a bit too light, it’s also one of my least favorite horns. The Banana Archetype is one I got last for a reason due to failing once and it took a long time to get one that wasn’t just… completely bright yellow. It took many, many, many rerolls.

And I would say that is really the biggest thing: Nests can be such a gamble. There is currently no way to test what you may get ahead of time so something you may think could work could, well, not. It could go horribly wrong or not get the results you expected and maybe using something further from what you wanted could actually work better.

This is especially frustrating if you use Gems to hatch a Dot over Sundrops. The only point in really using Gems is if you’re hoping to unlock one or more traits you do not currently have yet. The things they don’t tell you though are:

  • Just because you use Gems doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed for even one of the traits to pop up.
  • You HAVE to pick a Dot with the Trait(s) you want to unlock them. If you do not pick a Dot with those traits, despite using gems, they will not unlock.
  • If you do not manage to get a Dot with the Trait(s) you want, you can reroll, but Rerolls also cost gems.

And like, I could deal with the first two things if it wasn’t for the third and/or vice versa. This is probably one of the things I hate most about the system. If I use a premium currency, I feel like either they should unlock regardless because I’m paying the extra price to unlock them or Re-rolls should cost Sundrops. The fact that it’s still a gamble and you need to reroll that 300-2,000 Gem price each time instead of the equivalent Sundrops is honestly awful when you’re not even guaranteed.

Because of this, people recommend having a “Trait Unlock” Dot which is generally a Dot with mostly 1* and/or None Traits because the costs are determined based off how many traits each Dot has, the rarity of each trait, and how far away the person is from you. Which also means if you’re really hoping to unlock traits, breeding that ‘Basic Dot’ with a Dot that has the trait you want on the Nearby list is your cheapest option. Of course, that also assumes you don’t necessarily care what you may get.

Because I am a picky mess, I usually do not go this route and jump in like an idiot, but for the Triton Archetype, I did end up trying to do this as no matter how I looked at it, the Trident Horns and Whale Tail were pricey. They were both 4* traits and while obviously I could wait until I leveled up more, it’d be a long while and when you’re hoping to breed with someone else’s Dot, there’s the concern of will that Dot even still be out by the time I manage to get to that level (and if that person would even still be playing then).

Leia, who I showed above, was the Triton Dot I ended up getting, but this is the Dot I got to unlock those traits:

I had gotten very lucky to get a Dot I liked, but this did take one reroll. Thankfully, between the 50% off Hatch-a-Dot costs weekend and using a lower cost Dot, I managed to get it with the Gems I had which meant it was a lot easier to roll for Leia as I could solely use Sundrops (which were also discounted thanks to the 50% off thing).

Regardless, there’s definitely strategies here to get the cheapest costs you can, and you do earn a decent amount of that premium currency. Despite using all those maybe a few weeks ago now? I have 1,905 gems and I haven’t bought any.

At the moment, there’s still 13 Traits I have yet to unlock (which I’ll either need to use Gems with Hatch a Dot or wait until I hit the respective level). Of those, however, I only really want 2-3– Crown Horns, Beetle Material, and maybe the Puddle Pattern. That said, even if I have unlocked a trait, it doesn’t mean I have any Dot with it.

And this is where the Shop Bundles come in. For usually about $7, a Dot with various traits (some random, some not) may be up for sale. Depending on what traits it has, this could be a really good way to unlock Traits at a much cheaper cost. I still generally will only go for a Dot if I genuinely like how it looks, but sometimes it can be tempting if you’ve really wanted a specific trait.

While these still feel pricey, the price being a little more than a nest, knowing what you’ll be getting, and usually some kind of additional does make it kind of balance out.

Less reasonable are Archetype Bundles which are $15. While I may have had the worst luck possible with Banana, you generally will be able to get Sundrops back up easily enough and can do enough with rerolls to really make it worth it over the Nest Bundle if you were planning to buy anyway. Maybe if they had the option to use real money or premium currency it’d be a little better, but?

Of course, the worst bundles are the level-up Bundles which… don’t really feel rewarding at all. Value-wise, they likely do equal up to what they are, but I just can’t really see anyone actually buying them, even if they really like the Dot. Essentially every 5 levels starting from 10, you get 3 Egg Rays and a specific accessory for your Dot to wear. Starting from 15, this also includes an Archetype Dot, usually featuring things you either unlock that level or maybe you’d still need later on. It’s a quick easy way to get the Dot traits immediately (versus finding someone or a Wild Dot that has them if you didn’t personally get them from your starter Dot) and unlock an archetype right away as well.

The problems are that the Dot appearance is random beyond following whatever requirements the Archetype requires and that they very quickly get fairly expensive.

While Caretaker and Guide Bundles aren’t too bad at $10 and $15 respectively which goes in line with the usual Archetype and special Dot Bundles you’ll see for events (with Caretaker having Celestial and Guide having Cheetah), Curator’s, Skipper’s, Expert’s, Overseer’s, Sage’s, and At one with the Dots’ Bundles do not feel particularly justified at $20, $25, and $30 (the rest are all $30) respectively. I don’t think the specific Archetypes are worth those prices (Peacock, Bismuth, Cotton Candy/Unicorn (I swear I got Cotton Candy, but it’s supposedly Unicorn now?), Jester, LED, and Static respectively). Static I found very cheap to unlock despite its rarity. Peacock could maybe be considered worth $20 if you really enjoy the look of it, but I think the only one I really found tricky was LED which I ended up getting the trait I was missing (Pulse) from one of their cheaper bundles. I just… It’s not like what you get changes, this goes fully into what is considered the value of the Dot and I just don’t think it fully adds up.
Edit: As of the most recent update (1.6.1), the bundles now include nests which is at least better, but the value still doesn’t feel balanced in my opinion.

And even then, I’ve never been fond of the whole “let’s bundle in tons of extra stuff to bulk up the price”, but I can’t see how one accessory and three Egg Rays make up for it. Not to mention that the Egg Rays are kind of pointless if you don’t usually have nests… At this point, I have so many Egg Rays.

Regardless, I can’t be too surprised when even special Nest Bundles during events are still kind of pricey (Either $12 for 3 or 5 for $20– they usually come with other stuff and it is cheaper than buying them normally, but if you’re someone who can’t afford to spend, neither discount is really enough to suddenly be worth getting), but it’d be nice to see more flexible options or things that felt more worth it for players who don’t want all the extras either.

I really hope they’ll continue improving things. I feel like there’s definitely potential and from what I’ve seen of certain commentary from Devs and Community Managers, they genuinely seem passionate about the product. I may have also pre-ordered the Peridot plush because it looks very cute.

Either way, I really love the Dots I’ve gotten and I’m looking forward to seeing new updates. I think some kind of collectible souvenir thing, kind of like how Pokemon can find stuff in Pokemon GO, could also really go a long way for more to do with your adult Dots.

Disney Dreamlight Valley – A Month+ in Review and the Cozy Edition!

In general, things have been kind of quiet on the DDLV front. We know Belle is coming (which I am very excited about– of the characters we were sure were coming, Belle and Rapunzel have been at the top of my list) and that the Beauty and the Beast realm will be coming with her, but other than that, the only other news has really been the brand new Cozy Edition of the game:

I’ll be honest, I’m pretty tempted by it– besides my need for all pets (Even if I still have yet to see Inside Out, I can see the inspiration for the Raccoon looks), I do like the Cottage and it would give me some more decor for my Forest of Valor which has been fairly lacking– I wouldn’t use it over my current house though. I like the stickers and posters too, but despite my interest, I do still wish things could stop being exclusive. Just make it a DLC pack for everyone :(

As a note, as I’ve seen this pop up a lot– this does not mean the game is no longer Free-to-Play— you’re essentially paying for the extras just like you’d pay for a Founder’s Pack. It’s simply a collectible thing.

Regardless, seeing the release date makes me think that maybe the “full release” of the game will be late October then and not the year anniversary in September as a lot of players have been expecting. It’s crazy to think the update could be out within about two weeks, but also that Belle, who had been one of the characters in the very first teasers, is only finally releasing now.

Either way, I’m super excited to experience the Beauty and the Beast Realm. I genuinely really love the Realms and hope more gets expanded with them.

Moving on, I haven’t really been doing too much in my own Valley besides checking Scrooge’s Shop and doing the Dream Snap challenges. I find I often think of better ideas after a challenge ends which… doesn’t help, but I think I’ve been doing okay. A big thank you to everyone who has voted for me. T~T

I had been worried about it for various reasons, but it seems most of those worries have been unfounded. The clothing in chests aren’t exclusive to the DreamSnaps, the trophy is just gotten from leveling up your DreamSnaps experience, the experience itself is very similar regardless of where you place, and it’s genuinely a good source of Moonstones, even at lower places. Even the leveling up gives some moonstones as well and they’re fairly large amounts too.

That said, you can only get 50 a week from Voting which isn’t very much. If you don’t want to (or can’t) participate, the voting aspect is pretty paltry. I’m kind of surprised it’s not a daily thing (or even multiple times a week), but I do think this may be the most friendly competition thing I’ve seen in a long time and it’s genuinely pretty nice and refreshing. There’s always going to be some bad eggs, but for the most part, it just seems like people have been trying their best.

I would say my biggest issue is that it is super finnicky with detecting Tool of Magic stuff. I’ve had stuff get flagged even if they are nowhere in the shot in any way and sometimes I can’t even find what it is detecting. It’s super weird. The only other issue I’ve had is sometimes it’s really hard to get a full view of certain areas and one specific part doesn’t do it much good.

Since my last update, these have been all my entries currently including the one I submitted for this week:




It’ll forever haunt me that I didn’t take the Earth/Air picture at my giant little pet sanctuary:

Maybe when there’s another chance in the future…

I still need to work on re-tiling the Plaza. I just… am still a bit too overwhelmed by how much I need to redo to really start working on it just yet. I’m sure I’ll get to it eventually. Hopefully. I should at least try and get it done before the next big update. If I do, I’ll edit this post with the overhaul.

In general though, I think I just feel a bit uninspired with decorating right now. A combination of missing items I still really want and not being the best with landscaping.

Let’s talk about Fashion Dreamer!

I’ve been asked many times now about if I heard about the game or what I think of it and while I’m more or less expressed my excitement in my ‘Game Presentation News’ posts, I haven’t really spoken about it as is. For those unaware of the game, it’s a new upcoming title by Syn Sophia being produced by Marvelous (and XSEED here in the USA) which if you’re unfamiliar with them, they make the Story of Seasons (Bokujō Monogatari) series among others.

If you recognize the name Syn Sophia, but maybe can’t place it, they are the ones behind the Style Savvy/Style Boutique/Girls Mode series which is one of my all-time favorite games. As someone who enjoys dressing up but isn’t necessarily a fan of most fashion-esque gameplay in other games, this has always been the perfect fit for me with the store system and general gameplay mechanics in comparison to other games.

While the game shares a similar style, Fashion Dreamer is its own thing entirely. The game will have its own story, but also has an online mode and gives you a large variety of ways to customize clothing that as someone who constantly ran into an issue in Style Savvy of ‘I really like this outfit but hate the color or nothing matches’, that is honestly really exciting.

For example, this is one of the pre-order bonuses in Japan:

And this is an example of it being recolored through the game:


Courtesy of the official Japan Instagram for the game

I think that’s part of what makes it so hard with the preorder bonuses too. Japan has a whole slew of preorder bonuses and besides the one I showed above, there’s also these I really like:

And knowing I can just… Adjust the colors as I’d like is really exciting. Obviously, you need to earn stuff in-game so it may take a bit, but just having the option is really exciting. If you’re worried about exclusive items though, I’m not entirely sure if the items themselves are exclusive or more so an early access thing. At least here in the USA, there is the physical version which I’m not sure if it comes with this or not, but at least the Digital Version supposedly comes with a “Chic Outfit” Pattern Set DLC which unlocks four rare patterns early: Sailor-Collar Blouse with Mimosa Embroidery, Retro Rose-Print Shorts, 2-Color Mid-Heel Lace-up Shoes, and Vintage Pearl Earrings according to the Press Release.

Personally, I’m pretty excited for the Blouse and Earrings myself, but even if you are maybe a little impatient to get these items yourself (or the ones in Japan do end up exclusive), with the ‘Like’ system in place, simply liking someone’s outfit wearing those items you may be interested in will grant you them which is really nice. In general, it seems there’s no reason not to try and give everyone some likes both as it helps them earn stuff and you, but I think it’ll be a nice motivation bonus for anyone who enjoys doing designs as well.

They show a lot more options if you’d like to see more of the color system. I’d also highly recommend watching the Gameplay Trailer that went up in English last month if you haven’t already:

In general, it almost feels hard to fully encapsulate why I’m so excited for the game. I feel like I was sold immediately when the trailer hit and that feeling only became larger every second more of the trailer. I mean, look at this place!:

If the game gets any physical merch, I want that Teddy Bear in real life. Though, probably in a smaller size. I don’t have that much room.

That area is one of the four different Coccoons that make up Eve, the world the game takes place in. There’s HOPE which is more of a Pop City-like appearance, ACT which has a more Modern City Street-feel (think NYC), Cocoon FUN which is where the image above is from and where I feel I will be spending most of my time whenever I have a choice and is more fantasy-themed, and Cocoon LOVE which is a giant Mall.

Like all of those areas look so fun to explore and I could easily see how DLC could maybe even add more things. I know I loved the trips you could take in some of the Style Savvy games for example.

Moving passed the fashion for a bit, let’s talk about the character creator!

You can have up to 4 Muses (your playable character). You can make them all more Feminine (Type A) or more Masculine (Type B) or do a mix. I’m really happy to see more masculine options as I know so many guys who have wanted to be able to make a masculine character in other games and it’s nice to see them have that option in this kind of game.

From there, you have Body Shape/Height options and pose options in addition to being able to pick your hair style/color and eyes as well. I’m especially happy to see a longer more wavy/curly ponytail. I do hope there may be other bang versions for it though like some of the other styles:

And it’s just, again, like every single thing. I’m excited to make my character and fill out her personality and explore the areas and hopefully hug a teddy bear.

You even get to make your own Brand Logo for your designs and decorate a show room which looks really pretty:

There’s over 1,400 items in the game and with all the ways to customize things, I’m really looking forward to seeing how people put their own spins on things.

The game releases November 3rd in the USA and November 2nd in Japan. I know I’m super excited for it and hope I see you in Eve too! :) I’ll be making posts in addition to Videos as soon as I start playing so please look forward to it! ^-^

Disney Dreamlight Valley – The DreamSnaps Update!

Before we get into my own journey with the update, I want to talk about the most advertised part of it: The DreamSnaps. When first announced, I was honestly pretty concerned– These types of things can so easily become a popularity contest and with the Touch of Magic tool, those who may struggle with it may be at a disadvantage.

They then announced that you could earn Moonstones just from participating and then I felt a little better about it because even if maybe you wouldn’t earn as much as if you won, at least it was an option that could work out for most people.

Except then it was announced that there would be exclusive furniture/items tied to it and that really sucks. It’s one thing if it’s another participation thing (like Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer where you could earn the special item no matter what), but it sounds like it’s a prize for winning, not participating.

I am glad that the Touch of Magic stuff won’t count even if that puts me in a bit of a bind because I literally only wear a Touch of Magic outfit. I guess I’ll have to use some of my other clothing for once. I would say the main concern now though is just with Scrooge’s shop inventory. It’s supposed to get a rebalance update, but I do think more people may be encouraged to time travel just for more items to use.

Anyway, I guess the short version is I wish the Dreamsnaps were just a “everyone who joins in gets something” and not “also there’s these exclusive prizes”.

With that aside, let’s go into the actual gameplay stuff. I haven’t really played much at all beyond checking Scrooge’s shop and maybe removing some night thorns if they’re in the way. Finding the Moonstone chests, even though I desperately need the Moonstones, is honestly just not very fun and so I’ve mostly given up on it.

I think in general, the Premium Shop has me pretty discouraged with the incredibly unbalanced prices and the increased price for Critters as well. I know a new Crocodile was shown during the trailer and I’m genuinely scared for how much that will be when it shows up.

Literally the only actual kind of new thing I’ve done is I started placing some of a border path:

I don’t know if I’ll do this everywhere yet (maybe just the Plaza)– I’m kind of torn. My favorite path’s border doesn’t look particularly nice, I hate that you have to remake all the paths as they require tons of materials (I was really hoping it’d just be a toggle per path), and path placement takes a long time without having to remove a bunch in the first place.

The border paths can also be super finnicky and you really need to do it all in one go to prevent them getting all messed up. The main boon for them is that they make corners look a lot nicer and that’s really the only reason I’m considering using them.

Anyway, the first thing I wanted to try and do with the update (after checking Scrooge’s shop) was to find and befriend Vanellope. I’m still not super confident on where I want to put her house. The beach is one option, obviously, because of the Volcano and stuff, but I feel like my Dazzle Beach is already pretty crowded.

The other option would be the forest where I could make some kind of little candy-themed area, but I don’t know if it really feels like it fits. When it comes down to it though, I just don’t think we have a good area for it, though, it’s not the first house I’ve felt that way about. It’s probably the one that I’ve felt most frustrated about though. I think most of the other ones I at least found somewhere that I settled on enough for it to feel like it worked, but nothing I can think of feels even somewhat acceptable here.

And I suppose Vanellope agrees with that assessment considering her very first friendship quest requires decorating around her house to make it look like a ‘candy biome’.

But before we get into that, let’s go back a little more to right before that. Vanellope’s introduction questline starts with Scrooge and essentially introduces the new DreamSnap update. I’m already really wishing I had so many different furniture items.

I honestly do kind of like it, but I probably won’t be keeping the room as is. I think there’s enough variety to make 2-3 Wreck-it Ralph rooms and I kind of want to wait until I unlock all the furniture to do so. I’m just not particularly great at working ‘in parts’ so not having everything available yet makes it a little hard to want to work on things.

Anyway, I did end up putting her house in the Forest after all simply because it’s kind of the most desolate. The beach really is a bit too busy and I do kind of like the candy theme in the forest– very Candy Land-esque.

Part of me wants to carve out more of an area to really make a Candy-esque part now or something, but I think I’ll still work on unlocking more things first. I had fun with the kart parts too (If you’re having trouble with them, I have the recipes here), though, was surprised you don’t really see the finished kart then. I guess the level 10 one is kind of close.

After getting the house set up, it was time for hobby sharing so after finishing the valley chores usual things like mining, farming, and fishing, you got to play hide and seek with Vanellope. She’s in the mine which I really should’ve just checked first, but I checked all the smaller areas first… Plus optional dialogue is fun.

Vanellope’s next quest involved finding a Sword to go have some “boss battles” which uh, not my favorite quest– I feel bad bothering characters and they are trying to be good… sort of. I did appreciate the color scheme though.

I kind of wish we could’ve done the battle of wits with Scar though. I like riddles.

That said, it was then time for Vanellope’s final friendship quest and honestly, probably my favorite one. You went around on a quest to gather keys to unlock the chest in her house. I didn’t expect Buzz Lightyear to be the Princess though.


With that done, I went and entered the first official DreamSnaps challenge. Once again, there’s a lot more I’d have liked to do, but oh well… I do wish I had a pink version of this dress with actual sleeves though…

Voting starts next week. I’m expecting to be last, honestly. Regardless, my playthrough will be up on Youtube soon, if not already if you want to see me play through the update and decorate as well!

In which I talk about Our Life: Beginnings & Always

On May 19th, the final DLC (and main content update– there is one last Patreon moment coming in August) for the first Our Life game, Our Life: Beginnings & Always, released essentially finishing up the game. As much as I enjoy Visual Novels, as I enjoy reading in general, I have always been more in the mystery genre for them. That doesn’t mean I’ve never played romance ones, and if you’ve seen my Youtube channel or literal guides for My Candy Love, it’s clearly not true, but most do not click for me.

This is generally a combination of:
-They move too fast for me to be invested in the relationship.
-I don’t really have interest in any content beyond kissing.
-I have a very specific type and 99% of LIs in these games do not get very close to that type.

And the reason Our Life, and the first season of MCL to a specific point, ended up actually jiving with me were because they had a slow build up where you actually befriended the love interests. Something especially interesting though with Our Life: Beginnings & Always is that the game lets you customize a lot from the look, name, what they like to wear, and pronouns of your own MC (main character) to your relationship with some of the characters.

Even your general tone can be customized to cater to if you’re more shy or direct. Coming from someone who is definitely more on the shy side, having choices I can actually relate to and wanted to pick was crazy. And you don’t even need to necessarily end up with anyone– you have the option to play the game completely as friends or in the case of 2/3 love interests, acquaintances at best. It’s not treated as a bad ending or any kind of ‘bad’ choice– it’s just treated as your own decisions. Relationships also won’t really be pushed on you– you can select an initiative level (so if you don’t like being kissed or maybe even more directly touched, you can pick low initiative vs high) and characters generally will feel the same way you do (IE: 2/3 love interests will not have a crush on your character unless you also chose to have a crush on them).

Choices you make during the game will also help develop MC more such as describing your character’s heights, certain things they like, dietary preferences, and even sexual orientation (including options for the asexuality spectrum as well). You even get to customize your room to an extent in Step 3 (along with describing what your plans are after high school) and your living situation and job, if any, in Step 4.

The way the game works is each ‘Step’ takes place in the Summer in-between 5 year intervals with the first starting when your character is ~8. Step 2 has your character at 13, Step 3 at 18, and Step 4 at 23. The game starts off in 2006 with Step 2 in 2011, Step 3 in 2016, and Step 4 in 2021. The Wedding DLC is more or less up to you on how far after Step 4 it is. While the game takes place in reality to an extent (and in the USA– the fictional town of Sunset Bird is located in South California), it does have some of its own divergences to keep the more positive vibes and things like green hair, purple eyes, and wavy eyebrows are completely natural.

Our Life: Beginnings & Always is free to play with additional DLC for more content and the ability to date two more love interests. Buying all the DLC is roughly about $25 which I feel like is cheaper than a lot of visual novels anyway. And if you’re only interested in the default LI, then it’s $15– each Step DLC is $4, the wedding DLC is $3, and the DLC for the other two love interests are $5 which add 5 additional moments to their introduction step and a new version of Step 4. Keep it mind that even if you don’t have the DLC for the other two love interests, you will still meet them in-game so if you’re undecided, that could be a good way to know if you’d want to know them as more than friends. All three LIs are pan (Cove is panromantic, Baxter and Derek are pansexual) so they’ll love your character no matter what.

The default love interest is Cove Holden who is also only love interest to be customizable in some way and has the wedding DLC. Both Patreon moments (which are 18+– one for Step 3 and one for post-wedding DLC. You CAN play them without going into the 18+ content though) are for Cove as well. Cove’s appearance and personality can’t be adjusted in Step 1, but in Steps 2-4, you can change various things about him such as:

  • Hairstyle – You have 2 options in Step 2, 3 in Step 3, and 4 in Step 4.
  • If he’s still wearing his glasses or has contacts (Steps 2 and 3 only)
  • Accessories. Bracelets and Necklaces– which he has if any.
  • You also have choices of various clothing. (Shirts, Pants, Pajamas, Jackets, Formal shirt, Bathing suit, etc. Not all are available at each Step though)
  • In Step 4, you can also pick Cove’s body type– if he’s more Lean or Muscular along with if he has any tattoos.

In addition to his appearance, you can pick if Cove is more warm or cold and more sporty or studious. Or, you can choose to not choose any of these (or just his personality OR appearance) and let the game pick which he is solely based off your character’s interactions with him in the game itself.

These things will affect his dialogue and also certain other aspects of his life (such as what he ends up doing after college or where his part time job is).

Your main character is the youngest child of a family of four that features your two moms, Noelani and Pamela and your adopted older sister, Elizabeth (who goes by Lizzie in Step 1, Elizabeth in Step 2, and Liz in Step 3 and 4). Your MC is also adopted.

Cove is introduced right in the introduction of Step 1 as your newest neighbor who has just moved in across the street. Depending on how you want to play, you could be disinterested in him, fond of him, or have a crush on him right away. You can change these at any step, but they can only go up– not down (So you could be disinterested for Step 1 and 2 and then be at Crush in Step 3 or you can be Fond and then Crush but you couldn’t be Fond and then Disinterested). How you feel can only be set at the start of a step so if you want to change it, you either need to replay or wait until the next Step.


Moments like these are when it really feels like the game gets me sometimes.

Each Step has an introduction, 5 free moments (where you can do all or none of them– it’s totally up to you), and an ending. Moments that you do CAN be brought up in future Steps and by the characters. Because of this, it can be fun to experiment with moment order too and honestly, I’d recommend doing all of them. One example is one of the very first moments in the list in Step 1 can be brought up in multiple ways even all the way in Step 3. If you’d like to see some specifics, I highly recommend checking out this document which mentions a lot of the references that can come up.

The Step DLCs add 5 more moments to their respective step. Derek’s DLC adds 5 new moments plus an extended opening/ending, and an alternate version of an existing moment to Step 2 (for a total of 15 moments if you have the respective Step DLC in addition to his) and 1 new option for Step 4 while Baxter’s DLC adds 5 new moments to Step 3 plus an extended opening/ending, and alternate version of an existing moment (which again, makes a total of 15 moments if you have the respective Step DLC in addition to his) and another new option for Step 4.

When you finish a Step, you can change:
-Your character’s appearance. Hair color, hair style, pronouns, name, whatever you want. Characters will be very supportive!
-Your relation to a Love interest.
-Your character’s comfort level (determines how shy or blunt they are)
-The initiative level of a love interest.
-Cove’s appearance and/or personality.

Step 2 introduces Derek Saurez, the first of two additional love interests. His alternate moment is Soiree which can also introduce the third love interest a bit early depending on the choices you make during that moment. Derek is the same age as the MC and Cove. His father is business partners with Cove’s dad. He also has two younger brothers. While you won’t really meet his family if you don’t have his DLC, you still will get to hang out with him quite a few times.

Unlike the other two love interests where you can choose to be completely disinterested in them, you will always have to be at least friends with Derek. He also has a crush on the MC right away, but beyond a mention at the end of Step 2 and certain lines in his DLC, you won’t have to worry much about it if you’re not personally interested in Derek. Of the three, he’s the most well-mannered.

Derek does not appear at all in Step 3 physically (you can have a phone call with him at the end if you kept in touch though), but does appear in both his and Cove’s Step 4. He can also be called in Baxter’s (our final love interest) Step 4 if certain conditions are met (His phone call is actually my favorite of the ones you can have, but sadly I don’t usually hit those requirements because of the Soiree changes required to do so).

Step 3 introduces Baxter Ward, who you can possibly meet at or even dance with at the Soiree depending on the choices you make. If you do meet or dance with him there, certain dialogue will be adjusted to represent that including choices in relation to it.

Baxter Ward will also be in their next Our Life game, Our Life Now & Forever (though, as a supporting character– not a love interest) which takes place in his hometown, Golden Grove– a fictional town in Oregon.

Baxter is a year older than the MC and Cove. Our Life: Now & Forever will follow a similar system (Steps 1-4), but with 4 year intervals inbetween instead of 5. The Love interests and your MC in OLNAF are 10 in Step 1, 14 in Step 2, 18 in Step 3, and 22 in Step 4 and take place in Fall during the years 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022. The OLBAA MC is two years older than the MC and Love Interests in OLNAF. Baxter is three years older. His alternate moment is Hang. Honestly, I kind of wish you could do both moments of Hang, though, I can understand why you can’t.

I won’t be talking more about OLNAF right now as this is mainly about the first game, but the Kickstarter for it will be going up this Fall— as someone who pledged for the first game, I am absolutely planning to for the second as well (and maybe actually go for some of the physical merch so I don’t have regrets like I do now for not realizing how attached I’d get.. Oh cute little charms… I would’ve liked at least one…).

As mentioned, the game is essentially about going through 15 years of your own MC’s life, whether you just want a friendly slice of life journey or something more akin to a rom-com, it’s just… really nice, honestly? You have the options to choose if you’re super into someone right away or pick more slow-burn options (though, if you go Baxter’s route, it is absolutely a slow burn as it is an angsty route and will be a bit of a gut punch at the end of Step 3. It gets better though!). I generally prefer the slow-burn myself because, as I said, I like actually getting to know characters before it gets to that point. And then if I maybe feel like playing a more romantic route after, I can.

For example, my very first playthrough had Cove as fond in Step 1 and 2 and then crush in Step 3 (which is when they confess), but I ended up having more fun doing Step 1 at Fond, Step 2 at Crush, and Step 3 at Love. Cove is essentially your standard childhood friends to lovers (or childhood barely interested we’re just here because of our parents ugh oh wait I may love you now to lovers depending on how you decide to feel about Cove at each step).

If you had asked me which LI was my favorite before the wedding DLC, I probably would’ve said Cove. And that might sound strange considering the DLC for Cove’s wedding is what made me interested in Baxter, but uh, oops.

Baxter is a very eccentric character in Step 3 and at least when I heard some of his excuses reasoning in Cove’s wedding DLC, I just desperately needed to give him a hug. Even if he’s kind of a jerk (affectionate) sometimes. It is an angsty mess and I stayed up all night the first time I played it because I was hooked and needed to see how it ended and now desperately need some kind of crossover DLC where he meets up with everyone in Golden Grove and they make up and maybe both casts hang out together or something but that probably will not happen.


As someone who generally doesn’t care for the proper guy in suits, it surprised me too. But I suppose, as Baxter says, he’s “always been improper. I’m merely formal about it.”.

I know a lot of people who also really adore Derek. I generally don’t like the super athletic LIs, but he’s honestly such a great character. I really want to check out his romance route at some point– I’ve only played the friendly version thus far. I would say some of my favorite moments with him are playing Mario Kart, camping in his living room, and the Father’s Day debacle.

I would say the hardest part for me with Derek though is that his character arc situation hits very close to home for me and is something I struggle with in a way I’m not quite ready to deal with just yet.

Baxter’s hits certain things too, but in a sense of a lot of people go through this. Even Cove I relate to quite a bit with how he handles certain things.

Derek’s hits a very fundamental part of my core that makes things a lot harder to decide how to deal with, even when playing a game like this.

But more than anything, the game is generally just really heartwarming. It feels like getting a warm hug and is such an enjoyable thing to just play for some positivity and fun times. Being sick often and having family with multiple medical issues, my childhood was very complicated and in some ways, this filled a bit of the void with that.

I really love every character, even the not as nice ones (which are generally cameos from another GB Patch game– XOXO Droplets which I really need to play at some point), and it was really fun getting to know all of them.

Even for those who aren’t super into visual novels, I feel like you could get something out of this game, even if it’s just helping you think and develop a new OC.
Overall though, I think it’s one of a very small selection of otome games that make me feel warm and fuzzy. Like I said, it’s just genuinely really nice, not just to play through and enjoy the moments, but also to actually feel like your choices matter throughout and more often than not, have options I actually want to pick and feel like my character would do.

Our Life: Now & Forever is pretty much improving on every concept that Our Life: Beginnings & Always introduced (along with having two main love interests this time– Tamarack Baumann, a girl, and Qiu Lin, who is genderfluid) and having played the Demo, I’m so excited for another level of coziness.

Anyway, I’ll end this here before I keep rambling, but I really can’t recommend the game enough and it is free to play so if you’re interested, be sure to check it out on Steam or Itch.io. Or if you’d rather see more of it first, I have over 30 videos of it over on Youtube because I have played over 200 hours of the game. And one thing you will absolutely notice is there is a lot of content to enjoy both with the free content alone, but also what gets added with the DLC.

But yes, tl;dr: Very fun game, highly recommend even if you just want to play it as a Slice of Life friendship adventure.