Echoes of a Tainted Past (Nintendo Switch)

“Maliki – Poison of the Past mixes turn-based combat, time-bending stuff, and town happenings into this quirky adventure that, honestly, is trying a bit too hard. I mean, it promises freshness but—does it really deliver? Uh, sort of. At its heart, it’s a confused little gem with big dreams.

So, Maliki’s supposed to be an RPG—cool, that’s the fun bit. But, surprise, it’s also about managing a town. Picture this: you’re farming, which is kinda fun, I guess, and then you’re out exploring Domaine, looking for roots and stuff. But breaking rocks? Cutting grass? Ugh, it feels like they just wanted to jump on the trendy bandwagon. I mean, come on. Plus, “cozy” is just a word they tossed in there. Ever try those puzzles? Yikes, they need laser focus. Did they mean cozy like sipping tea or cozy like pulling your hair out? I’m not sure.

Even the role-playing bits—when you get a chance to play—are all sliced up with chats and cutscenes. They look cool and all, but really mess with the pace. And these characters? After 15 hours, I’m still like “Oh yeah, the dude with the red hair,” because their personalities are kinda… gimmicky? Maybe if you read the webcomic, it clicks. But, they said “no backstory needed,” right?

Now, some parts stick with you, like the whole time travel twist. Poison mucking up the timeline is pretty wild, sending you to a farm in the ’80s, a ’90s school, and so on. Definitely different! And kudos for those enemy designs—they’re not your standard fare. Poison parasites everywhere!

Ah, but then, mazes. Jeesh. Even the characters complain about ’em in-game. You get deja vu swapping characters to open paths—students block stairs in the ’80s, tourists do the same in the ’00s. Fresh the first few times, then it kinda falls flat.

Oh, and the music, it’s a win. There’s something Zelda-esque about it—and that’s a compliment. You can tweak the volume for tracks and sounds, which is neat.

Now, all these fancy character moves…sounds great, but glitchy much? They pop up unexpectedly, teasing you like you can use ’em when—plot twist—you can’t.

Let’s talk bugs. So many bugs. The game crashed, froze, and my Switch needed so many resets, I lost track. There’s mechanics thrown at you with zero explanation—like, hello, where’s my map?! Even ancient RPGs had maps. How’d they forget? This game’s like a fruit plucked off the tree weeks too early.

So yeah, Maliki wants to be this cozy RPG dream. It’s got the imagination, but boy, does it need some TLC. Maybe with some patches, it’ll finally find its groove. Or not. Who knows.”