Venba Reviews
Venba is a gorgeous-looking, sonically-rich game with minimal gameplay but a heartfelt and nuanced story about cultural identity, parenthood, and self-acceptance that more than makes up for it. A couple of omitted accessibility features and the short length aside, Venba is a beautiful representation of the immigrant experience, messiness and all, thus cleverly avoiding glorification in favor of authenticity.
Rarely have I felt so many emotions when playing a videogame. I love the story of Venba, how the story is told and how Indian food is presented.
Review in German | Read full review
Food and family converge in this beautiful slice-of-life tale.
Venba does not just make me feel seen, Venba makes me feel acknowledged and reassured in ways video games have never explored so profoundly.
In Venba's short play time, the narrative-led cooking game conveys so much of this family's experience. The stirring story is presented in snackable chapters, each with an emotional tale tied to a dish. The puzzles aren't too challenging, making for a comforting, cosy playthrough as you prepare each meal. Be warned though: this game will make you hungry. And it may also make you cry.
Venba is a delectable slice of a game that offers a subtly moving story that ought to appeal to Tamil people, first-generation immigrants and their children, and wider audiences alike. It’s also a fantastic cooking game, capturing the sights, sounds, joys, and challenges of preparing food like few games before it. A short runtime may leave you hungry for more, but that’s largely a testament to the quality of the meal.
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 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 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 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
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.
Venba is ultimately over quite soon, but I’d rather have a beautiful but small experience that will stay with me than one that lingers too long and wears out its welcome. There are a few parts of its story that could perhaps have been explored with more depth, but its story comes together to span a generation in the blink of an eye and leave players feeling satisfied with the experience. This is a game well worth experiencing, which even the busiest players should be able to fit into a free evening.
Venba is a real joy to play with its awesome art style highlighting representation in Indian cuisine, along with a heartfelt story and amazing soundtrack to boot. Like any new food, you just have to try it.
A story full of color and flavor, which will allow us to live an interesting narrative experience with great attention to detail.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
One part exploration of culture, another puzzles in the form of food prep, Venba has a fresh feel but requires some patience
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
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.