[rewrite this title] Nintendo Switch Review: Maliki – Poison of the Past

Oh man, so I came across this game called Maliki: Poison of the Past—like, where do I even start with this one? Honestly, I stumbled onto it because I’m into webcomics, and bam! It turns out it’s a turn-based RPG. Anyway—wait, no, let me set the scene first.

This game unfolds in some futureish scenario where humans are literally about to bite the dust. Like, thanks to this… toxic plant monster thing—sounds wild, right? Maliki, the main character, is trying to fix this chaos with her ragtag group of temporal—uh, survivors. They hang at this cool spot, the Domaine, which, get this, exists outside of time. Mindblowing stuff.

Oh, so there’s this scene (in-game cutscenes mixed with hand-drawn awesomeness) where we meet Sand. She’s our first buddy in the game. She accidentally lands in the Domaine and, wham, she’s in the conflict. Thousand-Root Tree—yeah, imagine a giant tree under siege. Also, Fang and Becky show up. They’re like the team struggling to hold back the baddies. Funny moment when Maliki’s like, “Sand, you look confused,” and, I mean, who wouldn’t be?

Right, when you’re playing, you wander around. It’s a bit of a learn-as-you-go. If you’re like me, you’ll probably fiddle with the controls—left stick moves, A button does all the talking and stuff. Switching characters seems like a crucial gig here, especially with Sand and her time-manipulation shenanigans or Fang’s gun tricks. Honestly, I mess things up half the time, trying to remember which button does what.

Oh, yeah… the combat! It’s all turn-based, which, for someone like me who kind of spaces out in real-time action, is pretty sweet. Picking actions as per the turn order—there’s this gauge thing in the corner—and then trying to pull off these insane Temporal Actions. They require Chrono Points—don’t ask me how I almost used them all to heal instead of attacking—rookie mistake. But basically, you could rewind or fast-forward a character in battle. Wild, right?

And then you have this Domaine to manage—a break from all that fighting. You might end up gardening—how quaint. Weeds, seeds, harvests—you name it. Keeps you in sync with nature, apparently. There’s this whole Naturon thing—did I mention it? Energy…something. Helps you out later, though I kept thinking if I ignore it, maybe it’d go away. Spoiler: it doesn’t.

Ultimately, kicking Poison’s minions out of timelines basically grows your safe zone—the Domaine—and levels you up. Feeding your crew pumpkin soup somehow boosts their XP gain. Yep, RPG logic.

Did I mention it’s on Switch for like 30 bucks? Anyway, might’ve wandered off-topic, but if this sounds like your jam, give it a go. It’s a quirky mix of… everything, really. Once you get a hang of it, it’s like organizing chaos. And in a weird way, kinda therapeutic?

Just remember, this is based on my experience with the Switch copy I snagged from Ankama Games. Oh, the things we get into.