Curse of the Past (Nintendo Switch)

Okay, so picture this: “Maliki – Poison of the Past.” All these big words like turn-based combat, time travel stuff, and managing a town are thrown into what’s supposed to be this epic, cozy adventure. Sounds cool, right? Yeah, kinda—but there’s more to it.

So, you boot up the game and it screams RPG at you. And that’s honestly the sweet spot. But here’s the thing: town management sneaks up like an eager puppy, wagging its tail and wanting attention. I mean, planting veggies and poking around this place, Domaine—home to what’s called the Thousand-Root Tree—is kinda neat. But, uh, the whole mowing lawns and rock-busting thing feels like someone’s trying too hard. It’s like, are we farming now? Plus, while the game tries to cozy up to you, grinding for boss fights and finicky puzzles throw a wrench in that whole vibe. It’s more like a tossed salad when all you really wanted was, like, a simple side salad. It’s clear the developers poured their hearts into it, though.

Now, about the story—just when you’re getting the hang of the RPG groove, bam! Here come the dialogue and cutscenes. They’re animated well, I’ll give them that, but they stick around like a cat in a sunbeam. The plot itself is interesting if you can keep your attention on it. I was like fifteen hours in and still referring to characters as “the one with the spiky hair.” Except Maliki, since they’re the main gig and all. Maybe if we had a heads-up from the comic thing it came from, but it claimed you didn’t need any prior crash course.

Then comes the time travel bit, which was pretty gnarly. Instead of typical medieval castles, you’re hanging out in ’80s farms or ’90s schools. Even the Louvre makes a cameo in the ’00s! Weird, right? Oddball enemies pop up too—animals, random humans, even weird objects possessed by poison freaks. Exploring was a hoot with unexpected laughs here and there, but those RPG bits stayed lodged in my brain.

Mazes, though—they’re everywhere, and even the characters moan about it. They twist puzzles into something that’s more like untangling spaghetti than a wacky funhouse. Like, students bogging down stairs in the ’80s? Skip forward and it’s tourists in the ’00s. Sounds familiar, right? It’s fun at first, but it gets old kinda fast.

Oh, but hang on—the music! Maliki’s soundtrack hits different. It’s packed with tunes that’ll remind you of Zelda. And yeah, you can fiddle with the audio settings—always a plus.

Every character in the game has their moves, but sometimes the game has a mind of its own. Prompts flash unexpectedly, tricking you into thinking you can pull off special moves when, plot twist, you can’t.

Gotta share the ugly bits, too—glitches galore. The game’s crashed more times than I’d like. And there were moments when my Switch just froze, staring back at me like, “What now?” Random mechanics with zero intro leave you scratching your head. The most baffling part? No map. Like, how does that happen? It’s kinda mind-boggling thinking about old RPGs that had maps back in the day. This game feels like it was picked before being ripe, glitch-wise.

In the end, this “cozy RPG adventure” gave me whiplash with its ups and downs. Tons of creativity? Yep. But expect just as much irritation. Maliki: Poison of the Past is brimming with potential and fun ideas—it just needs some TLC to really shine.