Venba

 Switch
Venba Image
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 5 Ratings

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  • Summary: Cook delicious South-Indian food and experience the journey of an immigrant family in Venba!

    Venba is a narrative cooking game where you play as an Indian mom who immigrates to Canada with her family in the 1980s. Players will cook various dishes and restore lost recipes, hold branching    Cook delicious South-Indian food and experience the journey of an immigrant family in Venba!

    Venba is a narrative cooking game where you play as an Indian mom who immigrates to Canada with her family in the 1980s. Players will cook various dishes and restore lost recipes, hold branching conversations and explore in this story about family, love, loss and more.

    Cook Mouth Watering Dishes
    Venba's recipe book gets damaged when she moves to Canada. Restore the lost recipes to cook delicious, mouth-watering dishes that serve as a connection to the home left behind.

    Explore, Converse, Experience
    Get to know the family well, hold branching conversations, and explore as you face the challenges that arise from day to day life.

    Features:
    - Cook authentic and delicious recipes handpicked from regional South-Indian cuisine
    - Hold branching conversations and explore different narrative beats
    - Beautiful visuals and animations
    Unique soundtrack inspired by Indian musicals    … Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. TouchArcade
    Aug 2, 2023
    90
    Barring the few features I’d like to see in potential patches, Venba delivered in spades, and I can’t wait to see what Visai Games works on next. Venba is a great 1 hour or so long experience that will definitely have you salivating at some of the food while probably thinking of your own family or friends while playing.
  2. Multiplayer.it
    Jul 31, 2023
    90
    Venba is a particular gaming experience, able to give voice to Tamil culture and, at the same time, to transmit a universal message. If you have had the luck to have a grandmother who has left you her notebook of recipes, at the end of the game you will run to take it in tears. Venba goes beyond the often rather narrow boundaries of the videogame medium, fully realizing the requests of those who would like space for more intimate and personal stories, also able to trace paths in places, cultures and themes usually not beaten.
  3. Gamereactor UK
    Aug 1, 2023
    90
    Venba is an interesting, thought-provoking, and emotional tale that is worth checking out. The cooking gameplay and the engaging narrative, matched up with the eye-catching and colourful South Indian cuisine-inspired colour palette make for an experience that is well worth the 1-2 hours it will take to complete it.
  4. Wccftech
    Jul 31, 2023
    80
    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.
  5. Press Start Australia
    Jul 31, 2023
    80
    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.
  6. Siliconera
    Jul 31, 2023
    80
    Venba is so good that it leaves you wanting more. Even if I could have my wish and the game could be twice as long, I suspect even that wouldn’t be enough for me. Visai Games offers such small, delightful slices of these family members’ lives, and I just wish I could get to know more about them and their culture during the game.
  7. NintendoWorldReport
    Jul 31, 2023
    65
    Venba packs an emotional punch, but it also pulls its punches a little bit, too. 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.

See all 14 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. AnnoyingDog
    Aug 30, 2023
    10
    Wow, I loved this! It's short but packs a punch! The story gets quite sad and I was crying by the end. However, the art is stunning and theWow, I loved this! It's short but packs a punch! The story gets quite sad and I was crying by the end. However, the art is stunning and the cooking mini games are cool. I'm so glad I gave this a go!… Expand
  2. pepcorn
    Aug 4, 2023
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A truly beautiful game, with many touching scenes and ruminations on roots and culture. I'm Middle Eastern–European, so it was a nice voyage into Tamil culture, of which I know little. But I wish there had been just a little bit more to the game. The most touching part of the story happens off-screen. [!!! SPOILERS AHEAD !!!]

    I would have liked to fix the recipe book alongside Kavin. But I'm glad he did it. He was able to find courage and embrace what makes him unique in a Western society that seeks to make us all bland.

    I think another touching aspect to the story is that it delves into how parents can't base their life around their children. It's a temporary task. But if you were kind, and you live long enough, maybe they'll come back to you one day.

    Lastly, I appreciated that Kavin breaks the gender mould touched upon in the opening scene of the game. He learned to cook, even after growing up with the example of his father never applying himself to it. It was an admirable and aspirational moment. Food is a deep part of our identity, and preserving and celebrating the recipes handed down to us is beautiful work because of that.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

47
#47 Best Switch Game of 2023
61
#61 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2023

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