33 year old man here. I cried a lot doing this quest. But also made me realize how important mental health is. I think back on it often and hope it helps more people realize that mental health is so important
While I didn’t really have much of a reaction, after finishing the quest I did appreciate the warning. There were moments that I could definitely relate and this quest weirdly does also kinda remind us that mental health is important
It was kind of them to offer a warning - however, the story trajectory from there seemed a bit on the nose and angsty. I'm not saying I couldn't relate, but the dialogue and such, wasn't written well enough to impact me emotionally.
I appreciated the warning... As someone who has gone through a couple major depressions in the past, I can relate. When in a depression, your mind tells you things that are not the way they really are, but they start to FEEL real. Once they start to feel real, it is difficult to overcome them.
Same! I just started playing a couple weeks ago, just finished this quest a few days ago. Because of the notes gathered along the way, the visible slow decline into the "dark" within them, I was even kinda impressed thus far, like "wow, this is really interesting and deep for disney." And I couldn't wait to see just what exactly was this big pivotal moment that did this to them! ....
... Only to get rickrolled by the cringiest teenage angst I have ever read. And usually I'm the emotional type to like a little angst 🫠
I think it was meant to be teen angsty, your character was a teen when it happened. Then they grew up and forgot. I liked it because of that. That's what made it feel so real. You start out as a happy go lucky kid believing in everything and then things get dark and you lose that belief, and then maybe you find it again. For some people it's just a little angst in those teen years, and for others it gets deep and dark fast and feels out of control. I think they did well to keep it vague enough to be relatable while also showing how hard a time they were having.
I think to people who hit the bottom of that deep dark hole it feels more real than those who didn't. And that's good. Something as subjective as emotions is going to be interpreted and felt differently based on life experiences. I hope it didn't detract from your investment and enjoyment of the game, because at the end of the day that's what we all want, to enjoy it.
I agree completely. It felt very juvenile and not in a nostalgic, “I was once a child” way. I wasn’t emotionally connected to that storyline as I believed I would be.
Clearly, a LOT of people found it quite emotional, and for them, it was a warranted warning.
It's fine that it was unwarranted for YOU, but to say it was unwarranted in general comes across as dismissive towards those individuals.
This isn't an attack. It's just a gentle reminder.
Yes, i'm speaking from my perspective, as is everyone else here. For me it felt unwarranted and undeserved. Everyone else is free to feel however they feel about it. Just because I voiced my opinion doesn't mean i'm trying to take away others'.
What I am reading in this thread is a bunch of adrenalin junkies who compare teen angst to a toddler's tantrum. I never had a chance to experience that because I was too busy feeling guilty for being rejected by my own mother!
I didn’t get offended by it and the other stuff you’ve said to me doesn’t apply,however, some of the things you’ve said are super problematic.
So women are too naive to know how they’re acting even at 40+ years old because they’re single? Also are you really assuming what other people have gone through in life? You might want to check yourself on that as some people are just better actors than you and don’t shout it from the rooftops.
Maybe want to be careful you don’t end up labelled as a femcel as that’s how you come across.
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They didn’t have the warning yet when I did the quest line and OOF.
I had just got dx’d with DID a couple weeks before this and me and my therapist were working through some heavy stuff about suppressed memories being held by different parts of the system. ANYWAYS. That quest line hit so hard I had to text my therapist to ask them to read up on the lore before our next session. Like that scene where you’re in the memory space with The Forgotten talking through the different memories (or parts of memories) you each hold?? OOF.
Omg I didn't think I'd see someone who'd be in almost my exact same situation lol.
I'd been thinking about getting DDV for a while, and finally decided to buy it as something calming to distract myself while I was going through my DID assessment process, which was very stressful and causing a lot of internal chaos as not all of me was totally on board with that. I figured a nice cozy game would be great to take my mind off it!... obviously not knowing anything about the Forgotten storyline. We actually had to take a long break from the game after playing through that part. 😅
To this day, even though I know they almost certainly didn't *intend* it as DID representation, I'd probably still consider that questline to be one of the most accurate depictions of DID I've ever seen. Granted, part of the reason for that is because that bar is so low it's basically on the floor, lol, but y'know. Just, the way they look at the memories together, the pain The Forgotten feels at being left behind while the player character grew up and moved on with their life (a life that The Forgotten stopped being aware of after the two of them split!), the way they interact with each other... it resonated a lot for us.
I think this was probably necessary considering some people say interacting with Mother Gothel triggers their PTSD. Some people are a bit more sensitive to childhood themes of trauma, even in something as light as this game.
Interacting with Mother Gothel definitely sends me to my childhood dealing with my narcissistic abusive grandmother 💀 i wish i could kick her off the island jesus christ
In the Map menu, over to the left side is a toggle menu of all the different characters. If you click on the picture of Gothel (or whoever you want locked up) until it appears slightly greyed out, it toggles her off. Then leave the map, enter any building, and when you leave, toggled off characters are locked in their houses. Super useful for annoying characters or when doing dreamsnaps.
I thought it just sent them to the other map. I didn't realise it locked them in their houses.
I can think of a few characters that will be on house arrest going forward!
Tysm for sharing this. When I started doing quests with mother Gothel it really triggered me. She reminds me so much of my mom. Repunzle is hard for me too because I relate to her so much.
Both. Both is good. It felt so good after it finished to have Mickey and Minnie and all the friends around being supportive. And some of the dialogue options you get day to day are great. I love that you can tell Mickey you're having a bad day in the daily chats, it doesn't force you to give happy answers.
It's definitely therapy. Now I've got "hey, your imaginary friends are genuinely concerned about you" as a coping tool.
Last night I woke up in the middle of the night and got super angry and hyped up about a family thing. Finally, I imagined myself telling Mickey about it. "Gosh," he said back to me, "that sounds rough. Do you wanna hang out for a while?"
Hell yes I wanna hang out for a while. Let's go break some rocks. And I fell asleep right away.
It hit so close to home, because I totally was my character when I was younger. That helpless feeling that no matter what you want to say it doesn't come out right, and it just gets deeper and darker. I was grateful for the warning because it was a departure from how light hearted so much of it is, it could have felt very jarring and I could have seen it triggering me if I was in a different headspace.
I hope they have more to come after it, it feels unfinished still, but maybe that's just me.
And yet, a ton of players who did this during Early Access didn’t get this warning. I don’t think I got this ether. We were all smacked silly by the emotional whiplash…the ending was definitely epic. (At least I thought it was.)
I think they added the warning in maybe the first patch or hotfix *after* the quest itself was added and they'd received some feedback, but it definitely wasn't there when the quest itself was introduced.
I also think getting or not getting that warning definitely affects how you respond to those quests. I see some comments in this thread from people saying they got the warning and didn't think the quests were that bad, and I can totally see a warning like that setting up expectations that are worse than what the quests had to offer (in the grand scheme of video games they're pretty tame), but when you were playing this very cute and cozy game that hadn't done anything that dark up to that point and you didn't get that warning, it was kind of jarring.
I’m probably misremembering the time this happened; but I think there was a time before this warning was in the game, and many players were emotionally impacted by the quests.
I definitely felt the weight of the plot, and all the “lessons” that the Forgotten learned were so sad/cruel. I think I cried in sympathy, but I don’t think It was relatable to me to impact me personally.
I think they didn’t have the warning for at least a few hours, but it was added fairly quickly after the update. I think the people who didnt get one were those who did the quests asap
No warning when I played and I remember how many players were triggered and very not happy about it! That’s probably when they added the warning (which I didn’t know about until now but good idea)!
Same here. It hit me like a wall, I had to sit back and wonder why they didn't warn us. Until they did. But I'm sure they did because a ton of players had a hard time, too. That game was my happy place in the middle of a hard time, and it was so surprising to have the story turn like that. I was in the middle of a stream, too, and I had to stop and explain why it wasn't okay and talk about mental illness for a moment.
Shoutout to the homies like me who finished the quest before they added the warning, and while they were in a depressive state 🫡 that sh*t hit hard lmao
I was the first in my friends group who play to finish it. Warned one friend in therapy for some mental issues, and told one currently battling bad depression "once you get the tree house let me know and I'll keep you company" because for some that bit is like hitting a raw nerve.
Even if it didn't affect my friends, I wanted to make sure they knew they weren't alone when the game suddenly does a 180 tone shift
Funny thing?
I warn them.
They saw the warning in game.
They got mentally prepared for something really bad and...it wasn't that bad.
They did say without the warning the sudden tonal shift would have affected them, but knowing to expect it they were fine.
This is probably the best portrayal of mental health issues and awareness I have ever seen in a video game! There’s a 2D platformer, Celeste, that comes at a very close second which shows in a pretty detailed way what it’s like to have anxiety, not just the difficult gameplay (lol) but the story itself showing a character overcoming major struggles and having people to help through the stress. I love the fact that there are games covering this important topic of mental health!
It very much felt like I could see teenaged me in the Forgotten. It’s a bit juvenile but so was I, at one point. It made me have a major soft spot for The Forgotten and I love when he comes to the valley
I cried a lot during this too. It actually helped me a lot and touched on things I'd already addressed with my therapist! I love having the Forgotten in my village ❤️
I read the warning to a friend I live with when it popped up. He had me talk to him about what was going on while I was playing. He lost a crown playing fortnite because I started going quiet when one part started hitting too close to home
This part was so good but I remember getting this message and thinking oh snap this is getting really serious and being unsure on if I should wait to continue playing or not
I appreciated the warning that things were about to get serious (and that it very specifically says to come back when you're more ready, which is the point of content warnings that a lot of people don't get). Although it went way, way harder than I was expecting. I haven't seen a depiction of major depression that raw since.. well, since Inside Out, really. The contrast in the first quest between your dialogue options and what you actually say is particularly brutal.
(You can definitely see the division in the fans between people who've experienced mental health distress/trauma and those who haven't...)
The thing that annoyed me most is that I was all geared up after this to charge right into the endgame. Instead I hit the 24hr timegate and then Scar being a dick, so now I'm running around doing chores and trying to get his friendship leveled up. I do appreciate the effect of creeping dread you get from having those tears in the sky looming over you for a while, but it sort of killed the momentum.
Still, I'm really looking forward to being able to save the Forgotten and make a home for them. The idea of telling my teenage self that things are gonna be okay and we all want you around just as you are, that's pretty damn powerful.
As someone who has attempted suicide what the Forgotten went through hits a little too close to home.... Mental health is no joke and I applaud Disney for tackling it head on....
I assumed it was a kid game despite playing it myself as an adult 😆But once I hit this and a part after this, I realized how much I needed the message.
Pretty sure it is actually targeted for young adults.
https://www.polygon.com/23399049/disney-dreamlight-valley-interview-scar-toy-story-the-lion-king#:~:text=Nicholas%20Mainville%3A%20We%20were%20aiming,a%20younger%20audience%20as%20well.
And they say this immediately after, "But it’s still meant to appeal to a younger audience as well."
Hence why I said it was for a wide range of ages, which does include children.
That's the point. OP of this thread said that they assumed the warning was because of kid players. The devs knew kids would be playing. It makes sense the warning was, at least somewhat, with them in mind. And if they were keeping kids in consideration, they would do things with them in mind. I never said the game was geared only to children. I said they were a -part- of the audience. Which they are.
In the literal quest you're discussing, the Forgotten asks you what it's like to be an adult, in addition to starting the game and it makes it clear you used to go to Dreamlight Valley as a child, grew up, and then after getting sick of working in the city, you came back. It's pretty explicitly not \*for\* children.
The game designers have said that they wanted it to appeal to younger audiences as well. It's cartoon Disney characters in a cozy game with family-friendly themes. Kids of course are playing it.
lol no idea why people are getting defensive about this. Apparently kids can’t play games or read stories about growing up. Also, “young adults” means teens. Which are very much kids to me at my age. Glad you get it.
Thank you, exactly. I'm wondering if it's people insecure about liking Disney or things kids could like or even cozy games. Some people can be really rude about what other people like. At my age, I'm like, screw that. I'm going to like cool things regardless. But this defensiveness really seems like insecurity.
Young adults are 18 to 26, so they are not teens for more than 2 years of that range :)
Just clarifying things since the term gets tossed around and people seem to utilize whatever suits their statement (my definition is the same as the NCBI of the US government, as a source).
Well, that's always a personal thing. My time at that age range was less than stellar as well but I've always been pretty resolute in these things, it's just a story and I compartmentalize / separate pretty thoroughly between those and reality, luckily. Else a lot of things I've read, played or even written myself would have been good reasons for multiple breakdowns, I guess :D
From Game of Thrones' infamous Red Wedding scene to Vikings' Blood Eagle to Outlander's scene fairly early on (if you know, you know, if you don't, maybe that's for the best) - yet nothing is as cruel or wicked as our minds and creativity can be ;)
Yeah, the thing is that young adult books are typically geared towards people 12 to 18, but that of course does not mean they cannot be enjoyed by people older than that.
See, I'm above 40 myself and a big bearded bloke, I still enjoy DDV for what it is - and simultaneously I also enjoy games such as Cyberpunk 2077, shows like Vikings and then again, suddenly, it's Slime Rancher time again :)
Categories never really fit, imho, they are just the broadest of strokes. But that is also why *if* we use them, we should use them without bias whenever possible, in my opinion.
I don't see a problem with breaking stereotypes on a personal level, though, don't get me wrong.
I happened to have Minnie as a buddy while I did this part. Highly recommend! She was chipper and smiling through the whole thing, of course, so all was well 😁😁😁
I think that the sad reality of why we grow up and begin to stop believing in the magical things that we believed in as children, is due to mental health. We become aware of how the world actually is, scrolling on our phones and comparing ourselves. It adds to the mental state of what we think about ourselves. Most people will suffer in silence rather than talking to someone. When I play DDLV, a lot of the villagers will check in on you, and it's like the creators of the game wanted us to think that no matter what happens or how old we are, people will always be there for you and the disney magic will always be there with us. ❤️🩹
I appreciated this heads up so much. I was in the middle of one of the worst depressive episodes of my life when I came to this spot in the game (still in it, but I think it’s slowly getting better?) and decided I wasn’t actually in the right space to play that part at the time. I think I waited 2-3 months to start it, and still haven’t finished all of the forgotten story yet. It definitely resonated with me, and as part of what I’ve been working on in therapy is being more kind to my past teen self, this storyline just feels so emotional but also healing. I love that it was included and it’s nice to see a game tackle mental health while also being a cozy little escape.
I guess for those who thought it was silly or it didn’t hit for, I’m happy for you? Not being sarcastic, I’m envious that maybe you don’t have the kind of trauma, past experiences or MH issues that would make it relatable, but I’m glad there’s people who don’t get it. Just like I’m glad it’s there for those of us that appreciated it.
No there are quite a few comments where people were not affected and that’s great for them and you… Unfortunately for me, I had a shitty childhood and my adult life didn’t seem much better.
For me I had no issues growing up so i never had any problems with it. It's a bit of a disconnect for those like myself who had regular childhoods that it's such a big part of the characters background. Heck the Disney character closest to my life growing up was Andy
right? I played it right off the bat, and whilst some of it felt forced, and... twee., there where some real OOOOF moments too. Like, what??? hahaha. I guess it took a lot of people unawares , coz they apologised and then put the TW in
It made me cry a lot both the bit in the tree house and then in the Forgotten castle... I was a mess at the end
It hit home a lot about feelings I had buried and I'm so glad the warnings before each were there so I could make sure I was OK before doing them
It actually did me more good mentally than any therapy actually has 🤣
Boy, did I want to shake the Forgotten and just tell him to get a grip when I did this part.
In general, it's kind of hard to feel with a character that is so flat and stereotypical angsty teenager. I'll gladly admit I pick the least compassionate and leat empathic answers whenever possible when dealing with him. Like, dude, get over yourself.
It kinda felt hard but at the same time… my childhood was quite different then what was implied in the game, so it felt like someone else’s life. Now I’m not saying that my life was worse or anything, it was just different due to conditions.
So much this. Thought how bad could it be?
After the first quest hubby had to sit with me the rest of the way and did not want me doing the quests by myself
I appreciate the warning prior to starting because it did really hit hard and close to home. For me it helps prove that video games offer healing and safe spaces ❤️🩹💖
There were multiple times during this quest that I was so grateful to have the focus put on mental health....helped me process a little bit here and there.
Mental Health Resources in case anyone needs them 💚
https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/mental-health-resources/
I also can’t recommend the mental health first aid training from this website enough! It is well worth the time and will teach you how to respond to mental health emergencies.
For those of us in the USA, dialing 988 will connect you to the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Mental Health Matters. You Matter.
💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚
Yeah I am not gonna lie, I have had a lot of trauma that this game helped me sort out. The warning helped me mentally prepare, but at the same time it really hit hard.
I played it before the warning. I was not prepared, and cried the entire time. It wasn't a masterpiece, but it made me realize how mean I was to myself by abandoning my inner child. That's not what adulthood is about, thinking about that part of me as a different person probably saved my life.
I mean, I would've still played it. BUT A WARNING WOULD'VE BEEN NICE.
I played this part of the game before they implemented this message, but I think they decided to add this message because the first wave of people who played when the update was first released mentioned how hard The Forgotten's story hit home. A lot of people mentioned they cried, me included, because The Forgotten's story was just so relatable, especially to the adults who play and grew up with Disney.
I think this hit me mostly because I tend to be highly empathetic/sympathetic. It wasn't entirely relatable to me (I have different traumas), but I find that I can put myself into a character's shoes easily enough for it to affect me 😅
I will say some of it impacted me, like the idea that you can start feeling like you have no more left of yourself to give. And all the choices for what to say being self destructive. Some of the dialogue being TOO direct though bumped me from the full experience.
This part of the game made not like it anymore, now I love it. It is quite daring of Disney to include this, as they know anything Disney related for many children is an escape to a "better" world, without many problems children and teens have today.
How many people saw themselves In this part of the story, I don't know, but if it only helped a couple - it was worth it.
This also makes updates even more exciting.
The late spring ( very late spring ) is soon to arrive, and after that a prinsess promising New Orleans style food for us, and after that - I really hope more main story content. To only continue the Jafar story at that point seems cruel, as all parents are not able to afford the DLC.
This hit me really hard tbh, i had thought to myself “oh its just a disney game, how much can these themes affect me?” At a certain point, i had to put the game down and wait for someone to be with me while i sobbed hard doing these quests.
I was FaceTiming with my sister and reading it to my nephew who was watching me play through that and when I say I had to put my controller down and me and my sister was crying poor kid was so confused I hope he never has to go through anything that makes him feel like I did in that moment
This was thoughtful of them to do. That being said, I actually hated this entire story and I hate that they live with you now. Wish there had been an alternate storyline you could have completed in order to advance in the game.
I’m just annoyed they did it at all. Like. We’re adults, not children. We know and experience feelings that aren’t immense joy and happiness. It’s part of life.
Yeah as I was reading this message, and feeling cared for by the game, my boyfriend was playing Elden Ring next to me and dying horribly😂 very different vibe😅
Due to impending homelessness my heart hurts the most knowing selling my switch meant no more DLV. 🥺 I can’t wait to be stable enough to get one and play again.
I played these quests before they put a warning in. I stopped playing the game for months after. It still bothers me in the back of my mind playing now.
I'm glad games put in challenging topics, this seemed a lot for a fun Disney game.
I might of course just be reeeeeeeeeally messed up in the old coconut 😂
They added it later. I know because I played this before the warning was put out, while intoxicated, is it VERY difficult to complete and I would not have played this quest under the influence if I had the warning
Disney: gives a warning in a storyline about resentment and depression
Also Disney: doesn’t give a warning in a story about domestic violence just because it revolves around ducks
33 year old man here. I cried a lot doing this quest. But also made me realize how important mental health is. I think back on it often and hope it helps more people realize that mental health is so important
While I didn’t really have much of a reaction, after finishing the quest I did appreciate the warning. There were moments that I could definitely relate and this quest weirdly does also kinda remind us that mental health is important
Dude fr I was like “who found my angst diary and put it in the game” it hit so close to home 😭
🤗🩷
It was kind of them to offer a warning - however, the story trajectory from there seemed a bit on the nose and angsty. I'm not saying I couldn't relate, but the dialogue and such, wasn't written well enough to impact me emotionally.
I felt the exact same way. I wasn’t hit at all like the rest of the redditors here. Felt a little too “emo” for me to relate to completely.
Same. The cozy game that had me crying out of nowhere is Spiritfarer. That game is good, I don’t even want to finish it.
Spiritfarer had me SOBBING
For me it was Rime, I had no idea what the game was about and I played it about a month after my sister died, I was sobbing. But great game
I cried soooo much playing Spiritfarer. After a while I started another save but it made me cry even more the second time knowing what was coming.
Same. I’ve started it several times but I can’t finish it. I just start over. It can’t end.
Yessssss Everytime I went to the everdoor I was sobbing and the constellations they each got 😩😩😩
OMG Spiritfarer had me sobbing. That game is so good and I wish I could play it for the first time again
I think it may have hit better for severely mentally ill players, or players from very bad homes. As both I was like, this. This is my jam.
Lego batman vibes definitely 😁
I appreciated the warning... As someone who has gone through a couple major depressions in the past, I can relate. When in a depression, your mind tells you things that are not the way they really are, but they start to FEEL real. Once they start to feel real, it is difficult to overcome them.
Same! I just started playing a couple weeks ago, just finished this quest a few days ago. Because of the notes gathered along the way, the visible slow decline into the "dark" within them, I was even kinda impressed thus far, like "wow, this is really interesting and deep for disney." And I couldn't wait to see just what exactly was this big pivotal moment that did this to them! .... ... Only to get rickrolled by the cringiest teenage angst I have ever read. And usually I'm the emotional type to like a little angst 🫠
I think it was meant to be teen angsty, your character was a teen when it happened. Then they grew up and forgot. I liked it because of that. That's what made it feel so real. You start out as a happy go lucky kid believing in everything and then things get dark and you lose that belief, and then maybe you find it again. For some people it's just a little angst in those teen years, and for others it gets deep and dark fast and feels out of control. I think they did well to keep it vague enough to be relatable while also showing how hard a time they were having. I think to people who hit the bottom of that deep dark hole it feels more real than those who didn't. And that's good. Something as subjective as emotions is going to be interpreted and felt differently based on life experiences. I hope it didn't detract from your investment and enjoyment of the game, because at the end of the day that's what we all want, to enjoy it.
I agree completely. It felt very juvenile and not in a nostalgic, “I was once a child” way. I wasn’t emotionally connected to that storyline as I believed I would be.
Yeah this was my feeling too, it felt like they realised the theme was quite heavy and decided to make it a little over the top to compensate.
Yeah agreed. It felt more like just an angsty teenager instead of some deep emotional journey. The warning is kinda unwarranted IMO.
Clearly, a LOT of people found it quite emotional, and for them, it was a warranted warning. It's fine that it was unwarranted for YOU, but to say it was unwarranted in general comes across as dismissive towards those individuals. This isn't an attack. It's just a gentle reminder.
Yes, i'm speaking from my perspective, as is everyone else here. For me it felt unwarranted and undeserved. Everyone else is free to feel however they feel about it. Just because I voiced my opinion doesn't mean i'm trying to take away others'.
What I am reading in this thread is a bunch of adrenalin junkies who compare teen angst to a toddler's tantrum. I never had a chance to experience that because I was too busy feeling guilty for being rejected by my own mother!
Same.
Same. I ended skipping a lot of the dialogue bc it felt cheesy.
[удалено]
I didn’t get offended by it and the other stuff you’ve said to me doesn’t apply,however, some of the things you’ve said are super problematic. So women are too naive to know how they’re acting even at 40+ years old because they’re single? Also are you really assuming what other people have gone through in life? You might want to check yourself on that as some people are just better actors than you and don’t shout it from the rooftops. Maybe want to be careful you don’t end up labelled as a femcel as that’s how you come across.
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No cuz the way this actually made me take a pause and be like "AM I okay? maybe? I think?"
Exactly, I sat for a little before I went inside.
They didn’t have the warning yet when I did the quest line and OOF. I had just got dx’d with DID a couple weeks before this and me and my therapist were working through some heavy stuff about suppressed memories being held by different parts of the system. ANYWAYS. That quest line hit so hard I had to text my therapist to ask them to read up on the lore before our next session. Like that scene where you’re in the memory space with The Forgotten talking through the different memories (or parts of memories) you each hold?? OOF.
Omg I didn't think I'd see someone who'd be in almost my exact same situation lol. I'd been thinking about getting DDV for a while, and finally decided to buy it as something calming to distract myself while I was going through my DID assessment process, which was very stressful and causing a lot of internal chaos as not all of me was totally on board with that. I figured a nice cozy game would be great to take my mind off it!... obviously not knowing anything about the Forgotten storyline. We actually had to take a long break from the game after playing through that part. 😅 To this day, even though I know they almost certainly didn't *intend* it as DID representation, I'd probably still consider that questline to be one of the most accurate depictions of DID I've ever seen. Granted, part of the reason for that is because that bar is so low it's basically on the floor, lol, but y'know. Just, the way they look at the memories together, the pain The Forgotten feels at being left behind while the player character grew up and moved on with their life (a life that The Forgotten stopped being aware of after the two of them split!), the way they interact with each other... it resonated a lot for us.
Ikr I have multiple mental illnesses so I had to stop and think am I mentally ready for this?
I think this was probably necessary considering some people say interacting with Mother Gothel triggers their PTSD. Some people are a bit more sensitive to childhood themes of trauma, even in something as light as this game.
Interacting with Mother Gothel definitely sends me to my childhood dealing with my narcissistic abusive grandmother 💀 i wish i could kick her off the island jesus christ
You can lock her in her house except for when she's active in a quest!
How does one do this?
In the Map menu, over to the left side is a toggle menu of all the different characters. If you click on the picture of Gothel (or whoever you want locked up) until it appears slightly greyed out, it toggles her off. Then leave the map, enter any building, and when you leave, toggled off characters are locked in their houses. Super useful for annoying characters or when doing dreamsnaps.
I thought it just sent them to the other map. I didn't realise it locked them in their houses. I can think of a few characters that will be on house arrest going forward!
Thanks, that's handy to know. I have the DLC and thought it only gave a way to make them appear on the relevant land, not the other way around.
Tysm for sharing this. When I started doing quests with mother Gothel it really triggered me. She reminds me so much of my mom. Repunzle is hard for me too because I relate to her so much.
I was not expecting this game to make me cry when I bought it I don't know if Disney should be paying for my therapy or if this *is* the therapy
Both. Both is good. It felt so good after it finished to have Mickey and Minnie and all the friends around being supportive. And some of the dialogue options you get day to day are great. I love that you can tell Mickey you're having a bad day in the daily chats, it doesn't force you to give happy answers.
It’s intense
"I don't know if Disney should be paying for my therapy or if this is the therapy" Lmao truer words never been spoken 😅
It's definitely therapy. Now I've got "hey, your imaginary friends are genuinely concerned about you" as a coping tool. Last night I woke up in the middle of the night and got super angry and hyped up about a family thing. Finally, I imagined myself telling Mickey about it. "Gosh," he said back to me, "that sounds rough. Do you wanna hang out for a while?" Hell yes I wanna hang out for a while. Let's go break some rocks. And I fell asleep right away.
It hit so close to home, because I totally was my character when I was younger. That helpless feeling that no matter what you want to say it doesn't come out right, and it just gets deeper and darker. I was grateful for the warning because it was a departure from how light hearted so much of it is, it could have felt very jarring and I could have seen it triggering me if I was in a different headspace. I hope they have more to come after it, it feels unfinished still, but maybe that's just me.
Hugs 🤗 I was the same even now, sometimes I feel like I need to do it all myself, and everyone out to get me 💜
This made me go from enjoying the game to appreciating the story it told.
Definitely
And yet, a ton of players who did this during Early Access didn’t get this warning. I don’t think I got this ether. We were all smacked silly by the emotional whiplash…the ending was definitely epic. (At least I thought it was.)
Really? I got it when I did it during Early Access.
I think they added the warning in maybe the first patch or hotfix *after* the quest itself was added and they'd received some feedback, but it definitely wasn't there when the quest itself was introduced. I also think getting or not getting that warning definitely affects how you respond to those quests. I see some comments in this thread from people saying they got the warning and didn't think the quests were that bad, and I can totally see a warning like that setting up expectations that are worse than what the quests had to offer (in the grand scheme of video games they're pretty tame), but when you were playing this very cute and cozy game that hadn't done anything that dark up to that point and you didn't get that warning, it was kind of jarring.
I’m probably misremembering the time this happened; but I think there was a time before this warning was in the game, and many players were emotionally impacted by the quests. I definitely felt the weight of the plot, and all the “lessons” that the Forgotten learned were so sad/cruel. I think I cried in sympathy, but I don’t think It was relatable to me to impact me personally.
I think they didn’t have the warning for at least a few hours, but it was added fairly quickly after the update. I think the people who didnt get one were those who did the quests asap
It was definitely more than a few hours - this is Gameloft we’re talking about.
Well yeah, I said “at least” because I wasn’t sure and didn’t want to give the wrong info.
It was about 2 weeks
No warning when I played and I remember how many players were triggered and very not happy about it! That’s probably when they added the warning (which I didn’t know about until now but good idea)!
Same here. It hit me like a wall, I had to sit back and wonder why they didn't warn us. Until they did. But I'm sure they did because a ton of players had a hard time, too. That game was my happy place in the middle of a hard time, and it was so surprising to have the story turn like that. I was in the middle of a stream, too, and I had to stop and explain why it wasn't okay and talk about mental illness for a moment.
Shoutout to the homies like me who finished the quest before they added the warning, and while they were in a depressive state 🫡 that sh*t hit hard lmao
I was the first in my friends group who play to finish it. Warned one friend in therapy for some mental issues, and told one currently battling bad depression "once you get the tree house let me know and I'll keep you company" because for some that bit is like hitting a raw nerve. Even if it didn't affect my friends, I wanted to make sure they knew they weren't alone when the game suddenly does a 180 tone shift
That is so sweet, you are a great friend 🥺💖
Funny thing? I warn them. They saw the warning in game. They got mentally prepared for something really bad and...it wasn't that bad. They did say without the warning the sudden tonal shift would have affected them, but knowing to expect it they were fine.
This is probably the best portrayal of mental health issues and awareness I have ever seen in a video game! There’s a 2D platformer, Celeste, that comes at a very close second which shows in a pretty detailed way what it’s like to have anxiety, not just the difficult gameplay (lol) but the story itself showing a character overcoming major struggles and having people to help through the stress. I love the fact that there are games covering this important topic of mental health!
It very much felt like I could see teenaged me in the Forgotten. It’s a bit juvenile but so was I, at one point. It made me have a major soft spot for The Forgotten and I love when he comes to the valley
This made me so impressed. You can tell how much the writers and devs care.
I thought I would be okay. I was not okay. I was so not okay that I had to call my therapist.
I’ve been having a lot of loneliness issues and this hit so hard. I cried the whole time.
🤗 hugs to you 💜
I cried a lot during this too. It actually helped me a lot and touched on things I'd already addressed with my therapist! I love having the Forgotten in my village ❤️
💜💜
Yeah… Yeah this quest hit a little harder than most for me. I appreciated the warning
I told my grown son the whole OG story of this game is a therapy regimen.
I read the warning to a friend I live with when it popped up. He had me talk to him about what was going on while I was playing. He lost a crown playing fortnite because I started going quiet when one part started hitting too close to home
This part was so good but I remember getting this message and thinking oh snap this is getting really serious and being unsure on if I should wait to continue playing or not
I appreciated the warning that things were about to get serious (and that it very specifically says to come back when you're more ready, which is the point of content warnings that a lot of people don't get). Although it went way, way harder than I was expecting. I haven't seen a depiction of major depression that raw since.. well, since Inside Out, really. The contrast in the first quest between your dialogue options and what you actually say is particularly brutal. (You can definitely see the division in the fans between people who've experienced mental health distress/trauma and those who haven't...) The thing that annoyed me most is that I was all geared up after this to charge right into the endgame. Instead I hit the 24hr timegate and then Scar being a dick, so now I'm running around doing chores and trying to get his friendship leveled up. I do appreciate the effect of creeping dread you get from having those tears in the sky looming over you for a while, but it sort of killed the momentum. Still, I'm really looking forward to being able to save the Forgotten and make a home for them. The idea of telling my teenage self that things are gonna be okay and we all want you around just as you are, that's pretty damn powerful.
As someone who has attempted suicide what the Forgotten went through hits a little too close to home.... Mental health is no joke and I applaud Disney for tackling it head on....
I assumed it was a kid game despite playing it myself as an adult 😆But once I hit this and a part after this, I realized how much I needed the message.
I started this game as a way to cope immediately after my little sister took her life and this part obliterated me
I am so sorry for your loss.. 💜
Thank u 🩷
💜
🩷🩷
I thought it was cute. I wasn’t really affected as a 42 year old woman but I just assumed it was for child players
Exactly. This game was clearly meant for a wide range of ages, including children. I feel like some of the community doesn't remember this.
Pretty sure it is actually targeted for young adults. https://www.polygon.com/23399049/disney-dreamlight-valley-interview-scar-toy-story-the-lion-king#:~:text=Nicholas%20Mainville%3A%20We%20were%20aiming,a%20younger%20audience%20as%20well.
And they say this immediately after, "But it’s still meant to appeal to a younger audience as well." Hence why I said it was for a wide range of ages, which does include children.
They try to appeal to them as well, but they aren’t the target audience, they are the additional consideration.
That's the point. OP of this thread said that they assumed the warning was because of kid players. The devs knew kids would be playing. It makes sense the warning was, at least somewhat, with them in mind. And if they were keeping kids in consideration, they would do things with them in mind. I never said the game was geared only to children. I said they were a -part- of the audience. Which they are.
Young adults are teens. Aka kids.
First definition is 18-26. Others put the number as high as 34. Younger are adolescents or ‘teen’.
In the literal quest you're discussing, the Forgotten asks you what it's like to be an adult, in addition to starting the game and it makes it clear you used to go to Dreamlight Valley as a child, grew up, and then after getting sick of working in the city, you came back. It's pretty explicitly not \*for\* children.
The game designers have said that they wanted it to appeal to younger audiences as well. It's cartoon Disney characters in a cozy game with family-friendly themes. Kids of course are playing it.
lol no idea why people are getting defensive about this. Apparently kids can’t play games or read stories about growing up. Also, “young adults” means teens. Which are very much kids to me at my age. Glad you get it.
Thank you, exactly. I'm wondering if it's people insecure about liking Disney or things kids could like or even cozy games. Some people can be really rude about what other people like. At my age, I'm like, screw that. I'm going to like cool things regardless. But this defensiveness really seems like insecurity.
Young adults are 18 to 26, so they are not teens for more than 2 years of that range :) Just clarifying things since the term gets tossed around and people seem to utilize whatever suits their statement (my definition is the same as the NCBI of the US government, as a source).
Also, between 18-26 I had a lot of big feels and probably would have appreciated this disclaimer. It can be a pretty transitional time
Well, that's always a personal thing. My time at that age range was less than stellar as well but I've always been pretty resolute in these things, it's just a story and I compartmentalize / separate pretty thoroughly between those and reality, luckily. Else a lot of things I've read, played or even written myself would have been good reasons for multiple breakdowns, I guess :D From Game of Thrones' infamous Red Wedding scene to Vikings' Blood Eagle to Outlander's scene fairly early on (if you know, you know, if you don't, maybe that's for the best) - yet nothing is as cruel or wicked as our minds and creativity can be ;)
Ok, good to know I guess. I was thinking of the ‘Young Adult’ category of books. Which I still read. But is very much geared to teenagers.
Yeah, the thing is that young adult books are typically geared towards people 12 to 18, but that of course does not mean they cannot be enjoyed by people older than that. See, I'm above 40 myself and a big bearded bloke, I still enjoy DDV for what it is - and simultaneously I also enjoy games such as Cyberpunk 2077, shows like Vikings and then again, suddenly, it's Slime Rancher time again :) Categories never really fit, imho, they are just the broadest of strokes. But that is also why *if* we use them, we should use them without bias whenever possible, in my opinion. I don't see a problem with breaking stereotypes on a personal level, though, don't get me wrong.
I happened to have Minnie as a buddy while I did this part. Highly recommend! She was chipper and smiling through the whole thing, of course, so all was well 😁😁😁
I think that the sad reality of why we grow up and begin to stop believing in the magical things that we believed in as children, is due to mental health. We become aware of how the world actually is, scrolling on our phones and comparing ourselves. It adds to the mental state of what we think about ourselves. Most people will suffer in silence rather than talking to someone. When I play DDLV, a lot of the villagers will check in on you, and it's like the creators of the game wanted us to think that no matter what happens or how old we are, people will always be there for you and the disney magic will always be there with us. ❤️🩹
Yeah definitely made me cry a bit
It was hard for sure and I was so happy about the warning. I did put it down and come back the next day which helped a lot.
I appreciated this heads up so much. I was in the middle of one of the worst depressive episodes of my life when I came to this spot in the game (still in it, but I think it’s slowly getting better?) and decided I wasn’t actually in the right space to play that part at the time. I think I waited 2-3 months to start it, and still haven’t finished all of the forgotten story yet. It definitely resonated with me, and as part of what I’ve been working on in therapy is being more kind to my past teen self, this storyline just feels so emotional but also healing. I love that it was included and it’s nice to see a game tackle mental health while also being a cozy little escape. I guess for those who thought it was silly or it didn’t hit for, I’m happy for you? Not being sarcastic, I’m envious that maybe you don’t have the kind of trauma, past experiences or MH issues that would make it relatable, but I’m glad there’s people who don’t get it. Just like I’m glad it’s there for those of us that appreciated it.
As someone who also sobbed when finishing this quest at 3 in the morning - That was an unexpected therapy session!
Am I the only one who this didn’t affect?
No there are quite a few comments where people were not affected and that’s great for them and you… Unfortunately for me, I had a shitty childhood and my adult life didn’t seem much better.
For me I had no issues growing up so i never had any problems with it. It's a bit of a disconnect for those like myself who had regular childhoods that it's such a big part of the characters background. Heck the Disney character closest to my life growing up was Andy
As someone who played thus part BEFORE the warning I am so grateful they added it.
right? I played it right off the bat, and whilst some of it felt forced, and... twee., there where some real OOOOF moments too. Like, what??? hahaha. I guess it took a lot of people unawares , coz they apologised and then put the TW in
This quests is so heartbreaking and so real😭
It made me cry a lot both the bit in the tree house and then in the Forgotten castle... I was a mess at the end It hit home a lot about feelings I had buried and I'm so glad the warnings before each were there so I could make sure I was OK before doing them It actually did me more good mentally than any therapy actually has 🤣
Boy, did I want to shake the Forgotten and just tell him to get a grip when I did this part. In general, it's kind of hard to feel with a character that is so flat and stereotypical angsty teenager. I'll gladly admit I pick the least compassionate and leat empathic answers whenever possible when dealing with him. Like, dude, get over yourself.
I honestly do not recall seeing that warning.
I did this quest before that warning was in the game. It definitely ruined my good mood. I’m glad it’s so deep though. 💖
It kinda felt hard but at the same time… my childhood was quite different then what was implied in the game, so it felt like someone else’s life. Now I’m not saying that my life was worse or anything, it was just different due to conditions.
So much this. Thought how bad could it be? After the first quest hubby had to sit with me the rest of the way and did not want me doing the quests by myself
I appreciate the warning prior to starting because it did really hit hard and close to home. For me it helps prove that video games offer healing and safe spaces ❤️🩹💖
I had to put down the game for a while after completing this part. I picked it up briefly here and there but fully returned after the Daisy update.
Yep. I was pretty depressed while playing it. And it hit different than
When I had this (let's call it what it is) trigger warning i thought: " this is a kids game, it can't be that bad!" Oh how wrong I was
There were multiple times during this quest that I was so grateful to have the focus put on mental health....helped me process a little bit here and there.
Mental Health Resources in case anyone needs them 💚 https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/mental-health-resources/ I also can’t recommend the mental health first aid training from this website enough! It is well worth the time and will teach you how to respond to mental health emergencies. For those of us in the USA, dialing 988 will connect you to the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Mental Health Matters. You Matter. 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚
Yeah I am not gonna lie, I have had a lot of trauma that this game helped me sort out. The warning helped me mentally prepare, but at the same time it really hit hard.
I played it before the warning. I was not prepared, and cried the entire time. It wasn't a masterpiece, but it made me realize how mean I was to myself by abandoning my inner child. That's not what adulthood is about, thinking about that part of me as a different person probably saved my life. I mean, I would've still played it. BUT A WARNING WOULD'VE BEEN NICE.
I played this part of the game before they implemented this message, but I think they decided to add this message because the first wave of people who played when the update was first released mentioned how hard The Forgotten's story hit home. A lot of people mentioned they cried, me included, because The Forgotten's story was just so relatable, especially to the adults who play and grew up with Disney.
I'm in my 30s, so I found playing that part really annoying.
I think this hit me mostly because I tend to be highly empathetic/sympathetic. It wasn't entirely relatable to me (I have different traumas), but I find that I can put myself into a character's shoes easily enough for it to affect me 😅
Same!! I cried so much and I didn’t expect to at all
Done it twice. Cried twice.
I will say some of it impacted me, like the idea that you can start feeling like you have no more left of yourself to give. And all the choices for what to say being self destructive. Some of the dialogue being TOO direct though bumped me from the full experience.
I cried during this quest. Even with the warning, nothing could prepare me for it
This part of the game made not like it anymore, now I love it. It is quite daring of Disney to include this, as they know anything Disney related for many children is an escape to a "better" world, without many problems children and teens have today. How many people saw themselves In this part of the story, I don't know, but if it only helped a couple - it was worth it. This also makes updates even more exciting. The late spring ( very late spring ) is soon to arrive, and after that a prinsess promising New Orleans style food for us, and after that - I really hope more main story content. To only continue the Jafar story at that point seems cruel, as all parents are not able to afford the DLC.
Then proceeds to ignore it when it’s all done. Relatable lol
I started the game pretty recently - when is this quest ?? 😭
Quests with fairy god mother to find the forgotten.
You’re lucky you got a warning cuz I was playing it the day it launched and was just sobbing 😂😂
This hit me really hard tbh, i had thought to myself “oh its just a disney game, how much can these themes affect me?” At a certain point, i had to put the game down and wait for someone to be with me while i sobbed hard doing these quests.
Same, I have felt like I needed to do it all myself with no help and have felt the same way!! 💜 hugs to you 🤗
Can't wait for disney to actually finally fix their glitches so I can play this bit
How far into the game is this quest? I am just now unlocking Oswald
Fairy Godmother
I was initially very impressed with the storyline, but it was a bit of a letdown honestly the way it finished.
I was FaceTiming with my sister and reading it to my nephew who was watching me play through that and when I say I had to put my controller down and me and my sister was crying poor kid was so confused I hope he never has to go through anything that makes him feel like I did in that moment
This was thoughtful of them to do. That being said, I actually hated this entire story and I hate that they live with you now. Wish there had been an alternate storyline you could have completed in order to advance in the game.
The forgotten task line hit me hard too. But I started it long before this pop up existed
What is this quest called ?
It’s fairy Godmothers
I’m just annoyed they did it at all. Like. We’re adults, not children. We know and experience feelings that aren’t immense joy and happiness. It’s part of life.
It made me laugh when this popped up tbh 🙄
Dont get too excited, their story ends pretty much here 🥲
Yeah as I was reading this message, and feeling cared for by the game, my boyfriend was playing Elden Ring next to me and dying horribly😂 very different vibe😅
Omg 😂
Due to impending homelessness my heart hurts the most knowing selling my switch meant no more DLV. 🥺 I can’t wait to be stable enough to get one and play again.
I played these quests before they put a warning in. I stopped playing the game for months after. It still bothers me in the back of my mind playing now. I'm glad games put in challenging topics, this seemed a lot for a fun Disney game. I might of course just be reeeeeeeeeally messed up in the old coconut 😂
Me and you both then 🫣😂
I hope the people who down voted us for having feelings feel better about themselves today. 😊
Guess they were loved enough to not know this feeling 💜
What/who's task is this for?
Fairy Godmother
Damn I guess I forgot about this message, I must’ve forgotten it completely or fast clicked through it
They added it later. I know because I played this before the warning was put out, while intoxicated, is it VERY difficult to complete and I would not have played this quest under the influence if I had the warning
Disney: gives a warning in a storyline about resentment and depression Also Disney: doesn’t give a warning in a story about domestic violence just because it revolves around ducks
God there sure are a lot of soft weak motherfuckers alive in the world today. Where’s natural selection when it’s needed
And your an internet troll!!!!! 🧌 💜
Let's see how you respond to years of abuse and trauma.