Maliki: Poison of the Past is an action-adventure RPG from Blue Banshee and Ankama Games, now available in its complete version! Inspired by Souillon’s enthralling novels and comics, the game immerses players in a journey across time and space.
Step into the shoes of the enigmatic Maliki and her eccentric family as they wage war against the Poison—a terrifying entity that consumes worlds and conquers time itself. With a rich mix of temporal puzzles, exploration, turn-based combat, and a cozy farming and crafting system, Maliki: Poison of the Past delivers a one-of-a-kind adventure teeming with secrets to uncover.
The demo version of the game looked extremely promising, but what can it offer in the long run? Were the first hours of the game its peak and it has nothing more to offer? It’s time to dig in and find the truth.
Of course, nothing has changed in the game’s demo premise—the world of Maliki still teeters on the edge of destruction, ravaged by the all-consuming Poison. Its monstrous roots, deceptively natural in appearance, creep through every world they touch. Defying the laws of time and space, it spreads corruption relentlessly, its true purpose shrouded in mystery.
The world needs a hero.
By the wishes of fate, or rather by Maliki’s decision, this role falls on our protagonist – Sand, a spirited and athletic young woman. Rescued (or perhaps kidnapped?) by the mysterious Maliki, she’s whisked away to the timeless Domain and thrust into a war she didn’t sign up for. Now, whether she’s ready or not, Sand must unravel the secrets behind this reality-warping catastrophe and become the unlikely key to saving everything.
At first, everything feels hectic and confusing as the characters act as if they’ve already shared a long history with the protagonist, Sand. However, the narrative gains clarity and becomes more coherent when Maliki essentially sends her back to the beginning.
No hero can fight alone. The real soul of the game lies in the Domain’s ragtag family—a crew of misfits so charming, so bursting with personality, that you’ll adore them the moment they step on-screen. Led by the enigmatic Maliki, this eccentric squad brings humor, heart, and a whole lot of chaos to the adventure.
Take Fang, Fenimale, and Becky—the ultimate dream team for a journey this wild. Even when the world’s on the brink, they’re cracking jokes, scheming their way out of disaster, and refusing to let despair take hold.
The writing truly brings each character to life through vibrant, personality-packed dialogue. While unvoiced, every line practically leaps off the screen – you can vividly imagine each character’s distinct speech patterns, quirks and emotional inflections as you read. Their chemistry is magic: a perfect balance of absurdity and sincerity, where no situation is too dire for a well-timed quip. And Sand? She fits right in, matching their infectious optimism like she’s been part of the family all along.
Together, they’re more than allies—they’re an unstoppable, unserious force.
However, don’t let the lighthearted tone and visuals fool you—beneath the game’s vibrant charm lies a story with real stakes. The crew might joke like carefree misfits, but as the adventure unfolds, darker truths begin to surface. The Poison isn’t some mindless force of nature; it’s a calculating, adaptive entity with one clear goal: domination. And its strategy is terrifyingly precise.
As the team chases the Poison across time, they uncover its sinister focus—stripping Maliki of her powers. By targeting pivotal moments in her past, it seeks to erase the future where she becomes the Domain’s guardian. With every leap through history, the crew pieces together Maliki’s tragic origins and catches glimpses of a ruined future, forcing them to confront an unsettling truth: The Poison isn’t just invading—it’s evolving, learning, and playing the long game.
The world of Maliki boasts a rich and expansive history, brought to life through numerous comics and novels. The game offers just one glimpse into this sprawling franchise’s grand narrative. While I can’t speak to how faithfully the game’s story and characters integrate with the established lore (as I’m not deeply familiar with the series), I can confidently say the visual presentation perfectly captures the essence of the Maliki universe.
It comes as no surprise that the game’s 2D art faithfully captures the series’ distinctive style – after all, the original creator was directly involved in shaping this new chapter of the franchise. The animated character portraits brim with life, their expressive designs radiating personality through every dialogue sequence.
The 3D elements complement this visual identity perfectly, adopting a charming cartoon aesthetic that maintains the world’s whimsical spirit while evoking the cozy appeal of Animal Crossing. Together with subtle VFX and soothing music, these elements create an irresistibly warm atmosphere that makes simply existing in Maliki’s world a pleasure. You’ll often find yourself lingering just to soak in that unique sense of peace and comfort the art direction so masterfully cultivates.
Especially notable are the enemies, whose designs perfectly embody the all-consuming nature of the Poison. The team battles not just plants or monsters, but bizarre symbiotic creatures warped by this corrupting force. The Poison dominates everything in its path – living beings, artificial objects, even the environment itself – twisting all into tools for its expansion. Animals, humans, and machinery alike become mere pawns in its relentless spread. Despite the cartoonish art style, these corrupted entities maintain a distinctly monstrous quality, their unsettling designs masterfully blending creepiness with amusing whimsy.
While visuals and narrative are important, what about the gameplay? Maliki: Poison of the Past centers its gameplay on turn-based battles and exploration as the primary means of progressing through the story. Like in classic JRPGs, the player selects actions for their characters while learning about the enemies they face. Each creature and party member has unique weaknesses and special attributes, requiring players to combine and utilize attacks strategically to maximize damage.
The main cast fulfills specific roles based on their unique skills. For example, Sand serves as the primary DPS, while Fenimale specializes in healing. To synergize their abilities, the game introduces a time manipulation mechanic. By moving back and forth along the battle timeline, players can align the turns of different characters, allowing them to act simultaneously.
However, in practice, this feature feels slightly cumbersome. Adjusting turns often requires multiple time twists back and forth, and charging the ability takes time. While characters have a dedicated action to fill the time manipulation bar, in most cases, it’s easier to simply overpower the enemy rather than engage with the mechanic. The time manipulation becomes more useful in mid-game boss fights, but even then, rewinding to heal is often more viable than attempting to sync turns—since bosses deal heavy damage, wasting turns on charging time swaps can be fatal when healing or attacking is the safer choice.
The main problem with turn-based battle systems is that they often grow tedious quickly, no matter how many skills and combinations they offer—and Maliki was no exception. With a small, fixed team and limited options for swapping members, the diversity had to come from skills and traits. Unfortunately, the game falls short in this regard. Leveling progresses slowly, and even as new skills unlock regularly, they fail to make battles feel more exciting or tactically engaging.
For much of the game, the same repetitive strategy applies to nearly every random encounter, making combat feel monotonous over time.
What’s far more engaging in the game are the puzzles. Each new location introduces fresh challenges that grow increasingly complex as new characters join the team. Solving time-based or spatial puzzles requires clever use of each member’s unique abilities—and this part of exploration can truly surprise, as solutions aren’t always as obvious as they first appear. The environment, NPCs, and even fragments of the Poison can become key to cracking a puzzle. Perhaps the focus should have leaned more heavily into this side of core gameplay rather than battles—but then again, wouldn’t that sacrifice some of the action and thrill?
The only real issue with exploration is the lack of navigation aids—no mini-map, no markers. Instead, the game provides vague hints through NPC dialogue. While these clues generally aren’t too obscure, they can fall short in maze-like areas such as cities, where pinpointing your objective becomes needlessly tedious. Sure, players will eventually find their way, but how many will grow frustrated wasting time on what could be straightforward navigation? That’s the real question.
Another activity the game offers is gardening—further reinforcing its Animal Crossing vibe. In the Domain, designated plots let you grow vegetables, but only after preparing the land: cutting trees, mowing grass, and breaking stones mimic classic gardening or even survival mechanics. Yet these tasks add little to the overall experience. While crops are meant for crafting and cooking—producing dishes that heal or grant battle bonuses—I never encountered a situation where they felt essential. It’s a pleasant diversion for fans of such activities, but in the grand scheme, the system feels insignificant.
Sadly, my experience with the game wasn’t entirely smooth either.
Despite its solid performance optimization, I still ran into several critical bugs that forced me to restart. The most glaring one occurred during a puzzle segment: Sand, the protagonist, abruptly refused to walk. The irony was almost comical—Fang and the others moved just fine, and character-swapping worked normally, but Sand would freeze in place. This was especially problematic since her time-manipulation bag was essential to solving the puzzle. The only fix was reloading from my last save, which thankfully resolved the issue.
Maliki: Poison of the Past offers a uniquely charming experience that captures the original spirit of the series. This lighthearted adventure blends ridiculous humor with genuinely serious themes, creating a distinctive atmosphere. While the action elements might not deliver pulse-pounding excitement, the game engages players through numerous other compelling aspects. It will undoubtedly earn its rightful place in genre fans’ libraries, offering both newcomers and longtime fans plenty of reasons to fall in love with this universe – whether for the first time or all over again.
