Oh, this I like. Tales of the Valiant is rolling back the lineages with Darkvision. Some have Enhanced Senses instead (elves, beastkin), while dwarves were the only lineage to have Darkvision. I like this design decision, which is one of those critical differences between ToV and 5E.
You get lineages with the wonderful Darkvision. And Enhanced Senses gives you skill proficiency, which is good in many environments. Everyone gets something cool!
Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!
I hope this survives the Alpha, and this is how you compete with games like Shadowdark. You don't make Darkvision a limiting factor in selecting a lineage, so players say, "Everyone in the party has it; we don't need torches!"
If you give Kobold Press feedback, ensure they know this is a good change in the feedback form!
Never mind that even in 5E, that dim light (what Darkvision sees) gives a disadvantage on all sight-based WIS checks. Say hello to all those ambushes and traps you will be walking into.
Cutting back on Darkvision to the few lineages who should have it is a significant first step. Otherwise, players who enjoy the atmosphere the "light game" brings to the dungeon-crawl experience will leave 5E for OSR games and Shadowdark.
You could always house-rule in "How our group likes to handle light," but this is a significant and positive change as the default design choice.
And at this point, this is a change you can only make in a new edition. Trying to roll back 10 years of "just give them Darkvision" for dozens and dozens of player races in 5E that "One D&D still supports" is a non-starter.
One D&D needs to be 6E, and they need to address this.
Otherwise, their competitors will.
And that is a good thing.
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