Review of “Maliki: Poison of the Past” for Nintendo Switch

Oh man, where do I even start with “Maliki: Poison of the Past”? Ever heard of Ankama Games and Blue Banshee? No? Don’t worry, me neither until I stumbled on this quirky little RPG that’s got all the sci-fi jazz. It’s based on some webcomic – guess that’s a thing now. Anyway, you’re thrown into this future world, where humanity’s kinda on its last leg, thanks to this nasty thing called Poison. It’s not your classic “spill it on the ground” kind of poison; it’s a plant monster. Yeah, wrap your head around that. Apparently, it’s been meddling with space-time and wreaking havoc.

Before I get ahead of myself, there’s Maliki — ever heard that name before? Me neither. She and a group of survivors are hustling to save everyone else. They operate from this place called Domaine, which floats somewhere outside time. Not sure how that works exactly. Some kind of sci-fi mumbo jumbo, I guess.

Alright, picture this: hand-drawn cutscenes — kinda vintage if you ask me — and you’re meeting Sand, one of Maliki’s crew. She pops through a portal and bam! She’s in the thick of it. I noticed they gave her a funny look on her face, like “who invited me here?” The Thousand-Root Tree’s in danger, and you’re supposed to save it or something. Enter Fang and Becky, the gallant defenders. Wait, did I mention Maliki casually saying Sand looks out of place? Awkward!

So you’re running around with your joystick — left stick to move, B for jumps, and A for, well, stuff like chatting, flipping switches, and picking up junk. Then there’s this wheel thingy with the right stick for switching between your people, ’cause, you know, different folks do different stuff. Like Sand messes with time (useful, right?), Fang has a pistol, and then there’s Qbee – kinda like your pocket helper.

Now, battles are turn-based. Think chess, but more colorful and with more “let’s hit these guys” vibes. You pick moves for your squad, keeping an eye on turn orders. Guess there’s some gauge too, somewhere on the screen. Regular attacks? Check. Blocking? Sure. Item grabbing? Got it. Oh, oh! And there’s Chrono Points. You’ll need those for the fancy moves.

Chrono Points are like the secret sauce here. You wanna rewind time to patch someone up or fast forward to unleash that killer combo? Knock yourself out. But wait, push too hard and turns overlap, triggering a duel – pick your move like, really fast.

Roaming these areas, smacking down enemies and such, but don’t forget your hobbies. Like gardening — no kidding! Upgrading Domaine involves clipping weeds, sowing seeds, and apparently harvesting? Sounds like what my nan used to do on Sundays. Anyway, this scores you Naturons – some life energy jazz. Use it right, and who knows, might do wonders.

The whole point? Cleanse those baddies from the timeline. Save the rooty tree. Remember to bask in the XP gains, leveling up and all. Boost them stats – stockpile pumpkin soup for extra XP boost. Why pumpkin? Couldn’t tell ya.

Looping back — save Maliki’s future self from Poison’s schemes. She’s meant to unite her ragtag team, battling universal doom, like no pressure, right? Anyway, if RPGs and sci-fi with a pinch of chaos are your jam, this one’s sitting on the Nintendo Switch shelf for $29.99.

Disclaimer: Got this copy from Ankama Games to stumble my way around.