Maliki : Poison Of The Past Review

When you launch Maliki : Poison Of The Past, you step into a world where time itself is your ally and your adversary. In Maliki : Poison Of The Past, you begin as Sand, an ordinary young woman whose life is upended when monsters invade her town and drag her into the Domain—a place outside of time where age and decay do not touch you.

From the first moments of Maliki : Poison Of The Past, you're introduced to mechanics that blend farming, puzzle-solving, and turn-based combat in ways you've rarely seen before. By feeding the Time Tree with naturally harvested crops, you unlock new areas of the Domain, and every seed you plant in Maliki : Poison Of The Past brings the world to life subtly and dramatically.

You don't just follow a typical JRPG plot in Maliki : Poison Of The Past—you actively manipulate its flow. After the inciting attack, you're coerced or convinced (depending on how you see Sand's character) to venture through a portal to the Domain, where time is fluid.

Your first mission is to help the character Maliki grow the Time Tree by feeding it naturally, which you earn each time you harvest a crop. As you feed the tree in Maliki : Poison Of The Past, entire new epochs of the Domain unfreeze, revealing hidden backstories, side quests, and NPCs whose lives were once trapped in stasis.

In Maliki : Poison Of The Past, the narrative unfolds in chapters: you liberate a frozen period, learn its core history, then return later to pick up side quests—rescuing cats, gathering lost chickens, or even 'liberating' shiny treasures from unsuspecting families. Each period you free adds context to Poison's schemes and lets you deepen your connection to the inhabitants of the Domain.

No JRPG released weaves farming so seamlessly into its core loop as Maliki : Poison Of The Past. You don't spend time tilling, planting, and watering—every step is condensed into a satisfying motion. Each crop yields naturon, and naturon is the lifeblood of the Time Tree. The more naturon you feed the tree in Maliki : Poison Of The Past, the more of the Domain you can explore.

The loop of sowing, harvesting, and feeding the tree quickly becomes addictive, urging you to plant "just one more crop" before you dive into the next frozen zone. And because growth cycles advance as you move through the Domain rather than being tied to an in-game clock, you're free to explore at your own pace, toggling between farming and adventuring whenever you please.

Over time, you'll also unlock additional farming tools—an axe for clearing brush, a pick for breaking rocks—but you might find, as many players do in Maliki : Poison Of The Past, that the simple planting tool and scythe are all you need for most of your early runs.

In Maliki : Poison Of The Past, exploration isn't just about running from point A to B; it's a puzzle in motion. Sand's ability to manipulate time lets you reverse the flow of a river to create pathways, and Fang—another early recruit—uses her gun to push and pull objects. While some of these tools suffer from minor bugs in the demo, the development team has already patched several issues, and you can expect a smooth journey.

Whether you're tipping over trees by rewinding their fall or shifting platforms to reveal hidden caves, the environmental interactions in Maliki : Poison Of The Past feel inspired and alive. You'll find yourself scanning every level corner, curious how a time-baited puzzle might open the following shortcut or secret room.

Combat in Maliki : Poison Of The Past is built around a timeline slider and a resource called Focus. You gain a Focus point with each turn, but you can burn extra turns to stockpile more. When you've amassed enough Focus, you can shift the timeline forward or backward—letting you line yourself up with enemies or allies for powerful team-up attacks or reverse damage to heal Health Points and Technique Points.

You start with core attacks, defensive maneuvers, and basic techniques, but as you advance in Maliki : Poison Of The Past, you unlock elemental abilities—kinetic, techno, normal, and, later, nature—that feed into a resist/weakness system.

While there isn't a strict rock-paper-scissors pattern, you quickly learn each enemy's vulnerabilities, which are displayed next to their names once discovered. Boss battles, in particular, shine under this system: you'll find yourself juggling offense, defense, and timeline shifts to maintain the right resources and exploit every weakness.

You recruit a small party throughout your adventure in Maliki : Poison Of The Past. Each character brings unique combat and exploration abilities. Sand's time magic, Fang's object manipulation, and future party members' as-yet-unseen skills promise varied puzzle-solving and battle tactics.

When you align turns with an ally, you enter a simultaneous action state where you can execute two techniques at once. If you choose compatible skills, you trigger special combos with bonus damage or powerful status effects. While you can't see a combo list in combat—an omission you might hope gets addressed—you'll still enjoy the thrill of discovering potent pairings organically.

The anime-style painting art in Maliki : Poison Of The Past is one of the game's best features.  The images in dialogue have a soft, hand-painted look, and the menus inside the game have the same style. I didn't expect chibi characters to move with such grace, and their animations make every run and jump look cute and stylish.

The 3D models used for exploration sometimes contrast with the lush 2D art, and you may wish more environments and character models adopted the game's exquisite illustration style. Still, the world feels cohesive once you settle into Maliki : Poison Of The Past, and the audio design—ambient effects, musical cues, and precise technique sounds—heightens every moment.

"Voice burps"—brief vocalizations in place of full voice acting—aren't to everyone's taste, but in Maliki : Poison Of The Past, they're unobtrusive and serve as a quick mood setter for each line of dialogue.

Resource management in Maliki : Poison Of The Past strikes a comfortable middle ground. You get back a small amount of HP and Technique Points after each fight, making saving items less critical. You can chain several fights without needing an emergency potion if you use flaws to your advantage and keep your Focus in check.

Meanwhile, the Domain's day-night cycle advances as you travel, triggering crop growth and spawning green crystals to upgrade the Time Tree and unlock many new sections. You can earn these crystals through farming, defeating enemies, petting cats, or discovering treasure, so you never feel forced into endless tilling.

In the Maliki : Poison Of The Past demo, you might encounter minor bugs with environmental tools—objects that don't respond to Fang's pull or puzzles that don't quite line up. The developers have acknowledged and patched many of these issues, and you can expect a refined experience.

By the time you finish the early chapters of Maliki : Poison Of The Past, you'll have tasted a rich blend of JRPG combat, time-bending puzzles, and cozy farming mechanics. The story is straightforward enough to follow yet layered with time-twisted reveals that keep you hooked. You'll find yourself experimenting with Focus management, trying new combos, and wondering which party members' future abilities will reshape battles and exploration.

If you're seeking an RPG that doesn't take itself too seriously but still delivers strategic depth, evocative art, and a sense of wonder, Maliki : Poison Of The Past is made for you. The farming loop won't bog you down, the environmental puzzles challenge without frustration, and the timeline mechanics breathe fresh life into every encounter.

You don't just play through time; you master it. You can feel the weight and freedom of time's flow every time you plant a seed, freeze a river, or line up the perfect combo. Gear up, cultivate that tree, recruit your party, and prepare to embark on an adventure where history—and your actions—are always in your hands.