- Publisher: Visai Games
- Release Date: Jul 31, 2023
- Also On: PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
- Unscored
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Jul 31, 2023Venba 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.
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Nov 27, 2023Though I genuinely loved my time with Venba, I could not swallow the steep asking price for the short, one-hour experience that you will have. It's a great, tear-jerking story that immigrants will resonate with, but there isn't enough here to justify the entry fee.
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Jul 31, 2023Venba is an exercise in brevity. I greatly enjoyed my peek into the lives of strangers who exposed me to a culture different than mine. I just wish I could have got a longer look at it.
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Jul 31, 2023Venba’s story offers a resonant, refreshingly unvarnished look at immigrant struggles, though the cooking segments don’t always gel with the story.
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Aug 21, 2023Pretty colours, smell of spice, they couldn’t dull my senses enough to not notice all of Venba’s imperfections. The characters aren’t very nice, the conversations tend to say nothing of substance, the story never reaches the required depths. But it’s short enough for it to be a cute visit of Indian culture and cuisine.
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| This publication has not posted a final review score yet. | |
| These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation. | |
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Aug 1, 2023Although Venba’s gameplay boils down to practice making perfect, its cooking puzzles and narrative also work together to perfectly illustrate the trials Venba’s family is facing. By pulling you into this process, it builds a bridge of empathy for players like myself, helping us relate to the loss that comes with growing apart from one’s family and the love that keeps you tethered to them while you forge your own path. Pairing that all too relatable human experience with the making of a bounty of delicious meals I’d like to try my hand at IRL is just the icing on the puttu.
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Jul 31, 2023I would have loved more Venba, with its vibrant sound, touching story, and mouthwatering food, and yet, I still feel like Visai Games has told a complete, focused story. [Polygon Recommends]
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Jul 31, 2023Although there are some elements that could've been improved with more time to bubble on the stove, Venba's visual novel-style conversations and gorgeous cooking puzzles complement each other perfectly. The result is a heartwarming love letter to immigrant parents, Tamil culture, and the food that raised us.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 6 out of 19
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Mixed: 10 out of 19
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Negative: 3 out of 19
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Aug 2, 2023
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Aug 4, 2023
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Aug 1, 2023Venba is a short half visual novel game that has some cooking. It's nice to cook Indian food and the story is fine.