Venba Reviews
Only toward the end does Venba hit upon a cohesive solution for both its story and its puzzles. The perspective shifts from Venba to Kavin, whose complicated relationship with his parents’ culture reframes the friction inherent to the game’s cooking segments: He has difficulty because he hasn’t prepared these dishes before and hasn’t cared to pay attention. Furthermore, his grasp on the Tamil language is rusty, so while he can refer to instructions at the top of the screen, they’ll be inaccurately translated and require the player to experiment while surmising their true meaning. This late change allows the game to finish strong, though the irritation of its earliest puzzles never quite dissipates, like a lingering taste from a dish whose flavors don’t fully cohere.
Venba is a tale about an Indian immigrant family in Canada that does most of its storytelling through cooking and leaves you wanting seconds.
Venba is a sweet, short-lived episode that presents the place held by food and cooking within our lives and cultures as near-on divine. It explores familiar relationships, as well as the ones we keep, for better or worse, with food itself, and left me with plenty to ponder as the credits rolled.
A spicy blend of story and delicious South Indian cooking, Venba is a unique indie tale that deserves to be savoured. As developer Visai's debut game, this is stellar stuff.
Venba is an interesting and thoughtful experience that lasts as it should and that, in about a couple of hours, is able to make you feel attached to its characters and themes.
Review in Italian | Read full review
An exploration of the immigrant experience straight from the horse's mouth, Venba tackles a Tamil family's struggles of a loving and living in a strange land, and the turbulence that follows, with a heartwrenching flair.
There's more to this narrative and this family that deserves to be included in the experience, and while the cooking segments definitely sing, I'm ultimately left feeling like I've been served an appetizer rather than a main course. It's beautiful in its colorful but minimalistic presentation and has a fitting musical score. I'm just longing to spend more time in Venba's charming kitchen and to be invited to share in more of the moments in her life.
Venba is a short, impactful, and beautifully presented look into the lives of an immigrant family that'll likely stay with you for a long time.
Venba is a beautiful cooking game that emphasizes the meaning of family, culture, and tradition. It's a game that will hit home for many who had to make the difficult choice of moving away from home, and one where you might shed a tear at the end.
Venba is a love letter to many things, not just food. It beautifully depicts the story of two immigrants and their struggle to keep their culture alive in a Western society that does not seem to understand or appreciate it. Venba brings together incredible art, sound, narrative, and gameplay that is magnificently entrenched in Tamil customs, leaving the player with not only a deeper understanding but also a deeper respect for this underrepresented culture.
Venba is an incredibly heartfelt, yet short, experience that offers glimpses into a family's life, culture, and delicious-looking meals.
Venba’s portrayal of the complex diasporic family dynamic is spot-on. It’s a perfect portrait of the challenges and wistfulness that come with trying to live a life while being torn between two completely different cultures.
Venba is a poem whose verses we interpret and feel in different ways. It is a sincere story about the life of a family, with its ups and downs, but there is harmony in its tragedy, humanized by the bond between Venba and Paavalan - the chapters often end with the couple lying down at the end of the day, discussing their problems and doubts - and by the conflict faced by Kavin as a child of immigrants.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Venba is a unique experience that clearly offers a different way of telling a story. While gameplay isn't the title's masterpiece, it's still fun to understand the recipes and try to complete them. Clearly, the title would have benefited from more stages in the preparation of dishes to prolong the adventure. In a way, while the game doesn't do anything particularly bad, we're left a little disappointed. Perhaps I'd have liked the gameplay phases to have been a little longer, even if this shifts the way the story is told. There's no doubt that the Visai Studios team is talented, and we'll have to keep an eye on their next projects!
Review in French | Read full review
Venba speaks on social issues people can face when placed in a society that feels adverse to acceptance and understanding.
Tender and cozy, Venba is a story worth checking out.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
As the credits rolled for Venba, I began thinking about how this would be someone's favourite game of 2023 and maybe one of their favourites of all time.
One part exploration of culture, another puzzles in the form of food prep, Venba has a fresh feel but requires some patience
Venba tells a beautifully intimate and reflective narrative about the nuanced experience of being a first generation immigrant. Its vibrant art-style and rhythmic Carnatic music come together to celebrate the cuisine of Tamils.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Venba, even more than I was anticipating. I expected a laid-back cooking sim, but what I got was a deeply moving narrative about generational struggles with immigration and creating a home for yourself in an unfamiliar land. Solving the puzzles of the missing steps in each recipe is surprisingly fun as well. Even though it’s a short experience, taking only about two hours to complete, it still a journey worth taking.