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0 Developed by Blue Banshee and published by Ankama Games, Maliki: Poison of the Past sets out to wrap turn-based battles, cosy farming, and anime wit into one delightful chibi-styled package. But does it deliver a timeless experience or leave you lost in the continuum? Let us jump into the Domaine and find out!
Maliki: Poison of the Past – This game has the cure!
Before we begin, if you’re a sucker for beautiful blends of 3D chibi models and hand-drawn animated cutscenes, trust me, Maliki: Poison of the Past is an absolute feast for the eyes. The combination is simply lovely and oozes charm from every pixel! If you want to grab this game, you have until 6th May to take advantage of the Introductory discount on Steam.
Gameplay
You play as Sand, a time-hopping hero armed with a Chrono Pack and a questionable understanding of temporal causality. Under the guidance of the enigmatic Maliki and her not-so-merry band of survivors, you’re tasked with repairing the timeline, farming your heart out, and occasionally thumping a sentient hay bale into submission.
You’ll leap into different eras, battle thorned creatures, and then teleport back to the Domaine to harvest crops, cook hearty meals, and upgrade your kit. While you have a jump button and can potter around the map, exploration feels more like a gentle stroll than a grand adventure. Combat is turn-based with a neat time manipulation twist. You can shift allies and enemies around the timeline, setting up combos or, into a duel where sides fight simultaneously. There’s strategy here, but the game requires trial and error; symbols over enemies, for instance, are anyone’s guess. The enemies don’t even show a health bar.
Graphics and Audio
Visually, Maliki: Poison of the Past is a delicious poison. The chibi 3D models are brimming with personality, while the hand-drawn animated scenes are alive with motion, giving conversations a warmth. The style shift is seamless and adds emotional heft to the narrative beats.
The art style, a lovechild of French graphic novels and Japanese anime sensibilities, is a real winner. It’s colourful, vibrant, and packed with little flourishes that give the world a cosy, lived-in feel, even if the scenery leans heavily on the “picturesque farmland” look for most of your journey.
On the audio side, Maliki wears its cosy heart on its sleeve. Gentle guitar strums, and wistful flute melodies, make Domaine feel like the gaming equivalent of a warm hug. That said, there are occasional tonal whiplashes, like when you stumble upon a hulking Poison beast, and the soundtrack serves up a jaunty tune that feels more “lazy Sunday market” than “impending doom”. Thankfully, battle music rights the ship with daring tracks that match the action on screen.
Sadly, there’s no voice acting. It’s a shame because the characters are brimming with sass (especially Fang, the embodiment of every sarcastic teen trope ever written) and hearing them come to life would have been a treat. Still, the animated dialogue scenes inject enough personality to carry the experience.
Longevity
Maliki: Poison of the Past offers content for those willing to lose themselves in the grind. Between temporal expeditions, farming upgrades, crafting, and battling time-twisted sheep, there’s always something to do. However, enemy variety is sorely lacking. You’ll beat up angry chickens and sentient hay bales, or flowers far more often than you’d like, and the amount of back-and-forth between the same few locations can grate over time.
You can set-up multiple farms, but realistically, one near your base is enough, making the world feel underutilised. Still, if you love tinkering with upgrades and finding new ways to squash hay monsters, there’s plenty to keep you ticking along.
The four-member team cap and Fang’s ever-present sarcasm ensure combat doesn’t get too stale. Don’t expect sprawling dungeons or dramatically different biomes to explore.
Final Thoughts
Maliki: Poison of the Past is a charming, heartfelt, and occasionally clumsy adventure that proudly wears its cosy vibes. The blend of 3D chibi exploration and 2D hand-drawn storytelling is utterly gorgeous. If you can forgive a bit of repetition and the occasional musical misstep, you’ll enjoy the Domaine.
Maliki: Poison of the Past easily earns a Thumb Culture Gold Award for creativity, visual beauty, and sheer cosiness!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
If you enjoy this review why not check out a Thumb Culture preview of Augmented Empire
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