Video Game Mini Review: Maliki: Poison of the Past

Developer: Blue Banshee
Publisher: Ankama Games
Genre: Turn-Based RPG
Reviewed For: Nintendo Switch
Also Available On: PC (Steam)

It’s not often we see video game adaptations of French webcomics, but Maliki: Poison of the Past surprises and does so with tons of charm. With a small cast and creative mechanics, this little indie RPG delivers plenty to love, even if it falls short in a few ways.

Maliki: Poison of the Past focuses on a girl flung through time. She awakens in a magical space outside time and is quickly pulled into a battle against a force spreading corruption across the timeline. Alongside Maliki and her friends, Sand must fix broken timelines and help save the future. While the story assumes some familiarity with the source material, it remains accessible, using Sand as a newcomer to ease players into the world’s cast and lore.

At its core, Maliki: Poison of the Past is a classic turn-based RPG, but its time manipulation system makes it feel fresh. Players can build up Chrono Points to rewind turns for healing or fast-forward for strong combos. If two party members share a turn, they can trigger tandem attacks, while overlapping with an enemy’s turn initiates defensive duels. These mechanics encourage thoughtful positioning in battle in a way that just isn’t common in the genre.

Outside of combat, the players have a home base that includes farming, crafting, and cooking systems. The farming feels more like a supplemental mechanic than a core feature and will disappoint anyone who wants this game to be a farming simulator in addition to an RPG. It’s closer to an engine to buff characters rather than a fully developed mode, but it adds variety between story missions. The light resource management, upgrades, and cooking systems give you useful tools in battle, but they are far from the game’s focus, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing since the main turn-based mechanics are excellent.

Visually, Maliki is a mixed bag. The 2D character portraits are expressive and charming, with cute chibi anime aesthetics bringing them to life. The 3D models and overworld environments look bland compared to the actual style, though, and they clash pretty significantly. The environments aren’t offensive, but they don’t have much personality, which you would expect tons of from a work inspired by artistic source material. On the other hand, the soundtrack featuring Motoi Sakuraba is excellent. The blend of atmospheric tunes and catchy battle music makes the presentation much better, even when some visual elements fall short. Performance on Switch is generally stable, but there is a lack of polish here, especially when it comes to the game’s framerate. There aren’t any game-breaking performance issues, but it could certainly be better.

Maliki: Poison of the Past doesn’t reinvent the genre, but it doesn’t need to. It tells a heartfelt story with clever mechanics, a fun cast, and a refreshing tone. Whether you’re a fan of the original comic or just in the mood for a unique indie RPG, this time-traveling adventure is worth the trip.