Maliki: Poison Of The Past

An admirable first effort from this studio that, despite some technical flaws, is well worth your time.

Maliki: Poison of the Past combines a time-shifting story with turn-based gameplay to create a flawed, but deeply-enjoyable experience.

Maliki: Poison of the Past is a timeline adventure that is definitely worth exploring, thanks to its unique battle style and diverse worlds. While it does have some bugs, such as frame rate issues on the Switch, playing on the Switch 2 resolves most of them.

Although Maliki: Poison of the Past offers strong storytelling, great art direction, and a stellar soundtrack, it’s still a game, and games need to be fun to play. Maliki: Poison of the Past is an ambitious title that can’t overcome its gameplay issues, making it difficult to recommend, but if you’re interested in this series, there are thousands of comic strips to enjoy.

This "cozy RPG adventure" was clearly picked before it ripened. As such, it's not as easy to recommend as it should be, with its many positives (music) clouded by sizable blemishes. Expect imagination and irritation, often in equal measure. Maliki: Poison of the Past has plenty of good ideas, but needs a patch to grow to its full potential.

Maliki: Poison of the Past is an imaginative and fun blend of adventure and turn-based RPG gameplay but it can also be super-frustrating. ⏳

Maliki: Poison of the Past is a beautifully designed game with a loop that feels heavier on combat and exploration than it is on farming. The combat, while balanced and intriguing, may end up being a little tougher than you’d expect from games in this niche, and you may well feel like you’re missing some opportunities to simply pootle around your crops. But if you’re locked in and ready for a turn-based RPG with a little meat on it, you may well fall in love with Maliki. I found myself a little frustrated — but understanding — with being dropped back at the dungeon’s entrance in the early game, as my resources dwindle too fast from trying to hustle back to the checkpoint. It’s going to be a matter of heavy preference for gamers. Still, I solidly mark this as one for the RPGers looking for a slightly lighter adventure fare than, say, Lunar. Then, I would recommend it for farm sim fans looking for a little excitement in between harvests.

The characters, gameplay, and farming sim are great fun, this indie sci-fi adventure is 100% worth your time. If you’re familiar with the source material, even more so! Check out the original comic at Soullion’s website.

An interesting mix of old-school turn-based RPG combat, farm sim coziness, and a more relaxed tone make this work

In the same generation of Metaphor: Refantazio, SaGa Frontier 1 and 2 Remasters, the Suikoden Remasters, and Expedition of 33, it’s very hard to see this being for what it hopes to be. With that being said, I enjoyed my time with it.