So, here’s the thing. “Maliki – Poison of the Past” is supposed to be this mix of turn-based battles, time hopping, and town chores. Sounds intriguing, right? I mean, it kinda is, but also, it doesn’t really know what it wants to be when it grows up. Feels like they aimed high but missed the bullseye a bit.
First off, it’s like an RPG… but it isn’t fully committed. The RPG bits are the heart and soul here, and they’re actually quite fun. Then, there’s this whole town management side gig going on. You’re growing veggies, exploring land (called Domaine, by the way—it’s got a big ol’ tree). Walking through that, yeah, it’s great, but then you’re bogged down with slicing grass and smashing rocks. Almost like they threw in another game just because everybody else is doing it. Cozy’s the new hit word, but if you’re expecting a lazy afternoon vibe, think again. Puzzles need laser-like precision and there’s grinding to beat bosses—and oh boy, glitches galore (more on that mess later).
And talking about glitches, you know how sometimes a game has that epic story but it gets choppy? Well, this one has its moments, but it’s like watching a movie with interruptions every few minutes. Sure, the scenes are animated nicely, but I still remember the characters by their hairstyles instead of their names—Maliki gets a pass because, well, they’re the lead here. Personalities feel tacked on, like if we had followed the webcomic origins, maybe it would’ve clicked better, but nope, they said you don’t need any spoilers going in.
Okay, some cool stuff—like the time-traveling idea with the Poison messing with time. Ever navigated an ’80s farm or a ’90s school in a game? Here, you do. And it’s not your run-of-the-mill castle and dragons spiel. Enemies taken over by poison parasites, oh boy, creepy and creative. Add in some fun exploration bits and the RPG parts save the day.
Moving on—mazes. Yeah, even the characters gripe about them. It’s this rinse and repeat where you swap characters to unlock new paths, but soon it’s like, “Why am I still doing this?” Students blocking stuff in one era, tourists in another. Yep, fun at first, but it gets old.
Ah, but the music! Gotta give it to them—if a tune reminds me of Zelda, it’s hitting the sweet spot. You can fiddle with volume levels to your heart’s content. That’s a plus.
Let’s chat glitches. Cool abilities each character has—nice concept, but they pop up randomly, messing with your strategy. Loads of bugs, honestly. Froze, crashed, you name it, it probably happened. And don’t get me started on the missing map. Feels like they released it before it was ready to roll.
So, here we are. A game that, honestly, it’s tough to wholeheartedly recommend. It’s got its charms (music for one), but yeah, a bunch of flaws too. Creativity and chaos are both in play here. Maliki’s got grand ideas, just needs some serious patching to live up to its potential.
