Review — ‘Maliki: Poison Of The Past’ Is A Cute And Wholesome Mix Of Farming Sim And RPG
by Gary Catig
Maliki is a French webcomic that was created over 20 years ago. The slice of life series, from Souillon, follows the exploits of the titular character. More recently, Maliki made the jump to video games thanks to developer Blue Banshee.
Maliki: Poison of the Past is a a turn-based roleplaying game (RPG) where Maliki and her friends Fénimale, Sand, Fang, and Becky, encounter the nefarious Poison, a plant-like creature looking to take over the world. Poison is able to infect the local inhabitants of wherever it goes to carry out its will. The heroes must travel through space and time in order to thwart the villain.
The overall feel of the game matches the spirit of the webcomic. Visually, the characters have an adorable chibi design. Even the enemies, though slightly twisted with the plant influence, are cute. The writing and the humor are a little corny, but still complement the wholesome vibes. It also provides some freshness finding these familiar characters in a completely different situation than they are accustomed to.
The RPG elements are familiar with an avatar representing the party exploring various maps. You can collect new members, and they each have their own set of special abilities. The turn-based combat has the reliable options of attack, defend, item, and ability. What makes the battles unique is the time manipulation feature. You can use it to replenish hit and ability points or to synchronize your characters attacks for a more effective combo that can unleash even more damage. This adds a unique dynamic to the strategy. But, over time, the fights can still be a grind and monotonous.
Maliki: Poison of the Past effectively incorporates other genres into the game as well. While exploring the different worlds, there are puzzles to solve in order to advance. They can be a little tricky sometimes because it isn’t always clear what needs to be done. They require playing around with and plenty of trial and error.
Keeping with the wholesome motif, another enjoyable aspect is the farm simulation portion of the game. It’s pretty extensive with the type of crops to farm and items to collect. Those in turn can be used to trade, to cook food which provides power ups, and to craft and upgrade gear. Despite the intertwining of genres, the RPG and farming sides don’t seem separate or an add-on to the other. The narrative expertly links the two with a smooth transition between them.
Though the battles can become repititive, Maliki: Poison of the Past is a cute and wholesome mix of farming sim and RPG.
Maliki: Poison of the Past is out now on Steam and Nintendo Switch.
