Animal Crossing meets Legend of Zelda in delightful free Steam download

While I adore a cosy game, I also enjoy turning up the heat too.

So imagine my delight when, during Steam Next Fest, I stumbled across a game that captures the best of both worlds.

Developed by Blue Banshee and set to be published by Ankama Games, Maliki: Poison of the Past is perhaps what you’d get if you blended the worlds of Animal Crossing and The Legend of Zelda.

You’ll join Maliki, supported by her “wacky family”, as she attempts to put a stop to Poison, a “fearsome plant creature that has colonised space-time”.

As such, you’ll traverse a Zelda-esque world, partaking in skirmishes, exploring, and solving “temporal riddles”.

Visually though, Maliki: Poison of the Past shares a style with Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

It’s an RPG, certainly, but in the cosiest sense.

In fact, take a look at Maliki: Poison of the Past in action below.

If you’re thinking, “This premise all sounds rather familiar,” Maliki is a French webcomic which has been running since 2004, although this is the franchise’s first foray into the video game space.

“In the near future, humanity is teetering on the edge of extinction, subjugated by the fearsome Poison, a plant monster that alters the space-time continuum. Led by the enigmatic Maliki, a handful of temporal survivors have joined forces and are coordinating their efforts from the Domaine, a haven outside of time that is so far safe from the threat,” the synopsis reads.

“Play as Sand as you travel through the ages to repair the continuum. Use your Chrono Pack to manipulate time, fight the monsters that have infested past worlds alongside Becky, Fang and Fenimale, a wacky and slightly magical band of characters.”

The skirmishes you partake in will be turn-based, albeit with a new original twist.

The game teases a “time manipulation” mechanic, allowing you to alter the course of time to make powerful new combos that link to your future attacks, with it also being possible to send your enemies back in time.

Between fights, you’ll return to the Domaine - essentially a farmstead, and this is where the game starts feeling very cosy.

Here, you’ll be able to plant, harvest, cook, and craft.

Maliki: Poison of the Past is, as I said, participating in Steam Next Fest so it stands every chance that the demo could disappear when the event ends on 3 March.

Give it a go while you can.