Venba is a short experience – a very short experience, in fact; we were done in less than two hours – but its brief running time was still enough to leave a powerful impact on us. It’s marketed as a “narrative cooking game”, which isn’t wrong – but it’s so much more than that. Venba is also a study on family, on culture, on the struggles of trying to fit into a society that’s not made for you. But oh, it’ll also make your mouth water for delicious Indian cuisine. Don’t play this while you’re hungry.
The titular Venba, along with her husband Paavalan, are a young Indian couple who have recently emigrated to Canada. Their life in India was a happy one by all accounts, but moving to Canada offered them new opportunities – and a chance to send money to their parents back home. But struggling to find fulfilling jobs – Venba was a teacher back in India, and Paavalan was a successful author – they’re considering moving home. That is, until Venba discovers she’s pregnant – and a life in Canada is what they want for their son.
The story of Venba, Paavalan and their young son spans more than 20 years, with players experiencing particular moments of their lives. These aren’t necessarily major milestones in their life; more snapshots that paint a picture of an ordinary Indian family trying to get by. You’ll witness Venba’s frustrations as her young son prefers to speak English rather than her native Tamil, and you’ll watch as Paavalan consistently struggles in a job he doesn’t enjoy. Some of the family’s problems are things we can all relate to, but much of the focus in Venba has been designed to highlight the experience – both the good and the bad – of trying to exist as an immigrant in a foreign country.
Every stage of Venba’s life has one consistent theme: food. Preparing South Indian cuisine becomes the backbone of Venba, and your mouth will be watering as you carefully put together a layered biriyani or steam soft, fluffy idli. This isn’t a Cooking Mama-like experience where you’ll be doing lots of quick time actions to get your pans of food just right, though. Rather, cooking in Venba is more like a puzzle. You see, you’ll be using Venba’s mother’s old cookbook, where some recipes have been damaged. Maybe the list of ingredients will be visible, but a key step might have been ripped off the page or smudged out by years of use. You’ll need to use what you’ve got to figure out exactly how to perfect the recipes in front of you.
It’s pretty fun, and you’ll be determined to get a recipe just right, even after you’ve failed and been sent back to try again. If you do get stuck, though, there’s a hint available – but we always felt more satisfied with our food when we’d successfully worked out the recipe for ourselves. There’s no punishment for getting it wrong: you’ll simply try again.
We adore Venba’s presentation. Its colourful art style brings Tamil culture to life, with Venba’s gorgeous sarees and the rich reds and golden browns of the food you prepare all popping off the screen. Even when the family is grey in mood, the colours of their culture shine through, keeping Venba a vibrant experience from start to finish. The same is true of the game’s soundtrack. It features new, original tracks but it’s been designed to pay homage to Tamil music, and it makes for the perfect backdrop.
Our time with Venba and her family may have been short, but we quickly came to care for each of them as we watched them struggle through life. This is a beautiful portrait of a couple and their son who feel just as real as you or I. It’s a celebration of being Indian, of being human, of being a parent, of culture, of food. It reminds us of the importance of family and tradition – and the joy that eating (and preparing) a good meal can bring even in the darkest of times. Brief as it may be, Venba has left a lasting impact – and it’s made us desperate to try some traditional Tamil cooking of our own.
Venba Review – GameSpew’s Score
