Toxic Memories (Nintendo Switch)

Wow, okay, let’s dive into the wild world of “Maliki: Poison of the Past.” It’s like this game is trying to juggle too many things at once, and whoops—a few balls hit the ground. It’s got this intriguing idea of smashing together turn-based combat, time manipulation, and a whole village to manage, yet somehow, it feels like it’s just missing some glue to hold it together. It’s ambitious, I’ll give it that—I mean, props for trying, right?

So, it’s an RPG at heart, which is actually the fun part. But then, suddenly, you’re also a farmer? You’re hacking at grass and smashing rocks, and it’s like, “Wait, did I change games?” I guess they wanted to hop on this cozy-game trend? But then, oh man, you hit these puzzles that demand, like, ninja reflexes. Cozy…with boss fights? Sounds more like a steaming hot soup of awkward ingredients. A Caesar salad would’ve been less chaotic.

Okay, moving on to the RPG stuff—it’s a bit head-spinny with interruptions. The animations rock, but I couldn’t latch onto the characters. They felt more like walking hairstyles. Except for Maliki, the titular guy (or gal?), cozies up in Domaine while the rest…well, I just couldn’t click with them. Maybe if I knew about its comic origins, I’d get it? But they said I didn’t need to, so… yeah.

But let’s not throw it all out. The whole time travel bit? Now, that’s a hoot. None of that run-of-the-mill medieval stuff—you’re hitting up a farm in the ’80s, a classroom in the ’90s. Even the Louvre in the ’00s—because why not? Enemies taken over by these creepy-crawlies… there are some chuckle-worthy explorations in there. The RPG flair has its moments, no doubt.

Now, detours time! Mazes are everywhere. Characters groan about them, and honestly, so do I. It kinda becomes routine. Instead of students, it’s tourists blocking paths… like a pesky déjà vu parade. Eh, fun at first, then it sags.

Ah, but the music! The soundtrack almost redeems the whole thing. It’s long, varied, and gives off that Legend of Zelda vibe—it’s catchy! Even got sliders to tweak the volume, bless them for that.

Yet, what’s up with the game randomly glitching me out? Boom, unexpected crashes. Glitch city over here. Some skills pop up as usable out of the blue—and psych! No, they’re not. I’m left rebooting my Switch (yay). And for some reason, no map? For real? It’s like a throwback to some ancient RPGs, except those actually had maps. Nearly 30 years and we backtrack?

In the end, this “cozy RPG” feels kinda undercooked. The tune’s there, but so are the static moments. “Maliki: Poison of the Past” could win hearts with a good patch job—and avoid making you grit your teeth out of frustration as much as delight. Hopefully, they can fix it up because, beneath the rubble, there’s a jewel trying to shine.