Venba

 Xbox Series X
Venba Image
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.2

Generally favorable 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: 5 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. TheXboxHub
    Jul 31, 2023
    90
    Don’t be too concerned about the shortness of Venba, for its fascinating story and cultural delights will certainly make up for it.
  2. The So Videogames Podcast
    Nov 3, 2023
    85
    I love this game. It was so great. And I loved especially that they got in, told the story, got out, did what they needed to do really effective with their time. Like surgical.
  3. Xbox Achievements
    Aug 2, 2023
    80
    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.
  4. Hey Poor Player
    Aug 14, 2023
    80
    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.
  5. SomosXbox
    Aug 15, 2023
    78
    Venba is a narrative experience with cooking gameplay that perfectly fits. A touching story that only lacks Spanish localization.
  6. COGconnected
    Jul 31, 2023
    73
    Venba is a lovely, quaint tale that successfully captures the notion of an immigrant family struggling in Canada. The story is heartfelt and manages to tackle subjects in a sensitive and realistic manner. While the cooking aspects are a little awkward on the controller and its short run time means that certain story beats are not fully explored, the game maintains a level of charm that will keep you eager for the next dish.

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. TechScope
    Aug 19, 2023
    8
    Venba is an interesting little game, it is on the short side but I don't hold this against them! This works in their favour.

    Without delving    Venba is an interesting little game, it is on the short side but I don't hold this against them! This works in their favour.

    Without delving too far into the story, including spoilers as such, I have to say that I'm impressed with the story. It has an interesting plot with a bit of emotion in it too. It's something that you feel people could go through realistically in their life.

    Onto gameplay. There isn't too much gameplay, this is a very story driven game but the select gameplay sections are fun. Some people may find them confusing, however, I believe that it's straightforward -- the game provides you a book that gives you advice how to cook a recipe alongside some quotes by the character to "egg" you on as it were. Should you get stuck despite this, the game has a built-in guide that will help you if you require.

    Graphically the game is unique in its style. Nothing breathtaking but it's certainly pretty and works well with the style of game; matched with the music and you can really feel the environment that the developers desired to create.

    In terms of shortfalls for this game I must say that there is a lot of dialogue between the gameplay portions of the game, the game is very short, just a few hours long, but given how little gameplay there is I wish they made it feel not so spaced out. The menu whilst cute does feel a bit and I feel that the game could have benefited from having various save game states for people who wish to go for achievements as opposed to having to replay the entire game or use the chapter select.

    Overall this is a very fun, unique little game. Whilst the downfalls do not outweigh the positives, this game may not be for everyone. It certainly depends on the type of games you enjoy. If story driven point & click games aren't your thing, you may wish to pass on this.    … Expand
  2. Kaykat
    Aug 15, 2023
    7
    Cute game with an interesting story. It’s a bit more point and click than I expected but I still enjoyed it. I think the dialogue could use aCute game with an interesting story. It’s a bit more point and click than I expected but I still enjoyed it. I think the dialogue could use a skip option or you should be able to re-do the recipes after completing the game as I had to click through all the dialogue again to get the achievements I missed.… Expand

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