Developed by Visai Games, a small development team from South Asia, Venba is available for all modern consoles, and tells the story of Indian immigrants who came to Canada in the 1980s.
This review is provided by a review key provided by the team at Visai Games. Thank you very much for the opportunity!
Life isn't always just flowers
Abusing boldness and ambition, Venba explores a culture that is rarely represented in the media, especially in games.
As an Indian family who immigrated to Canada, you will control Venba, the mother of the family. With her, you discover your own identity. You are in an environment that is not very welcoming to people who are not white, and you end up seeing your family leaving their roots behind to adapt to the new environment.
A story of love and affection that "grabs you by the belly"
The game begins in 1988, when Venba and Paavalan, the two main characters, are arguing just after Venba wakes up. Venba wants to make her husband Paavalan eat lunch, while Paavalan says he'll skip lunch so as not to disturb her.
Since Paavalan isn't the best at cooking, Venba gets up and goes straight to the kitchen. This is where the game's main gameplay mechanics begin. You'll be making idli, a fluffy rice cake made from lentil pasta.
So you'll be embarking on a journey of mixed emotions, puzzle-solving and reflection.
Venba's gameplay marries the narrative
You might think that a narrative game where the focus is on cooking could be silly, but it's definitely not. The game manages to take all the feelings that the narrative wants to convey, and transmit them to the gameplay as well.
While you're cooking, you're always accompanied by your mother's cookbook. But it's not just a recipe book. In it, you can understand how much she misses her home and how difficult it is for her to adapt to this new environment.
There is a great time to reflect on the fact that one day everyone will be away from their family. Whether it's because you've decided to venture out on your own, to another state or country, or even after losing a family member.
You can carry around a book full of recipes that you once cooked with your father or mother, but never, ever will that meal be like the one you cooked with them.
Moments create memories, and it's the memories that keep our hearts warm. And all of this is definitely conveyed in the game. Showing Venba to her, and Venba to his son Kavin.
Alongside these moments full of reflection, there are also numerous dialogues that offer some choices, so that conversations can take different directions. But still, taking all the essence and soul of the feelings of Venba for the player.
Is Venba worth playing?
Available at Xbox Game Pass and on all modern consoles, Venba is an authentic and original experience, which really manages to bring a mixture of emotions to the player.
At one moment, you'll be enjoying getting to know the whole of Indian culture, from the cuisine to other day-to-day practices. But at other times, you'll be sitting back, with the game paused and in a long moment of reflection.
Venba can be a technically simple game, which appeals for its artistic direction, its soundtrack which, for those of us who aren't used to this culture (which is a shame) is simply fantastic, and for its touching narrative. But it manages to be an almost indispensable game for anyone who likes a good narrative.
It's true that it's a departure from the natural narrative that we know today. There are many narrative games, such as The Last of Us e GearsThey are epic journeys, moments involving family ties and loss. But they appeal to both originality and creativity and know how to drive the story as Venba did. There aren't any!
I don't think I need to say much more to express that, without a doubt, if you're a fan of excellent narratives, relaxing and original games, you need to play Venba.
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