Venba

I love this game so much. The cooking is so heckin therapeutic and it's such a pretty game to look at. The food in this game looks insanely good. Loved the story as well.

I really loved this game. I cried playing it. Im keeping it downloaded just to keep all the recipes. I recommend it to anyone who loves food and good story telling. <3

Very touching and relatable. Nothing I write here will be unique, everyone's already praising the points I wanted to. I guess I'll just leave a suggestion to localize this into Tamil, Hindi and Marathi maybe? And definitely consider adding Tamil/Tanglish audio if possible in the future. Please make more games! <3

For such a short game, it was emotionally captivating. Such a beautiful story full of absolutely gorgeous and delicious foods! Shocked to find a recipe book and track list included to revisit. This game is so unbelievably rich. Excited for Game 2!

Simple gameplay, beautiful storytelling. Venba is one of those games that quietly sticks with you after it's over <3

小而精的一款游戏，美术风格，音乐和叙事都很棒。里面的特色食谱挺有意思的。 但与温馨画风不同的是，这个游戏讲述的是一个彻头彻尾的悲剧，女性主角，但完完全全的男性向叙事。讲的是南印度移民的故事，但能看到很多东亚家庭的影子。披着温馨的外衣讲着致郁的故事。 还有一点是整个游戏没有任何剧情跳过和快进的手段，导致二周目刷全成就的时候非常坐牢！ 这点真的非常难受，本身体量就很小，多周目重复性太高，拼进全力无法战胜，遂放弃全成就。 不过总体来说还是值得推荐的，好评给到美术和音乐

[h1]Venba[/h1] ☐ Loved it ☑ Liked it ☐ Not for me [b]Weighted rating[/b] out of 5 [h3]3.16[/h3] [h2]Summary[/h2] Restore lost recipes while following an immigrant Tamil family through the decades. [b]Best for:[/b] Players seeking a heartfelt, narrative-driven point-and-click experience about family, dreams, and cultural identity. [b]Skip if:[/b] You want branching narratives with meaningful choices, or substantial gameplay beyond the story. The game's brief, linear, and light on interactivity. [h1]Review[/h1] I must say, this was a bit of an emotional roller coaster. Which I recognize is an odd statement to make for a game that looks to be about food. But this is a story about identity, heritage, raising a child in a foreign country, and that child's need to form their own, all told through the kitchen and cooking. The generational tension is the game's real engine. [spoiler]Kavin's rejection of his mother's cooking and language feels like a somewhat painful, necessary cost of assimilation. The game doesn't judge him for it, nor does it let Venba off the hook for her stubbornness.[/spoiler] The game started out quite rough, with a [spoiler]husband who can't cook and this burden falling on his then-sick wife. Or, more accurately, she feels obligated to sort out his childish behavior. As the story progressed, it became more evident that Venba is depressed, feeling rejected by her son and struggling to find a job which adds stress to both the family's financial security and her self-esteem.[/spoiler] The puzzles (cooking) aren't complex but they're quite fun. And they made me hungry. The cooking itself, though, is more garnish than meal if that make sense. I mostly dragged ingredients to a pot and following Venba's notes, with little room for experimentation or failure. The voice acting and dialogue are enjoyable, feeling natural and not contrived. The story ties up its knots nicely. What stood out to me were large portions of the soundtrack. It hits all the right notes, with original songs composed by Alpha Something that pay homage to Tamil film music, apparently recorded with live instruments and vocals. The achievements are not difficult, and there is the possibility to choose chapters at the end of a full game. But there is as far as I can tell no indication which part failed. For example, one achievement is about cooking all dishes without making any mistakes a long the way. When I completed the game, the achievement didn't pop. So obviously I had made a mistake somewhere. Where? Had to play through a few chapters again before getting the achievement. [h1]Grading[/h1] [h3]Game Design & Game Play[/h3] [b]Core Game Loop[/b] ☐ Magnetic ☐ Engaging ☑ Solid ☐ Repetitive ☐ Tedious [b]Arc & Pacing[/b] ☐ Impeccable ☑ Well-judged ☐ Functional ☐ Uneven ☐ Ruinous [b]Narrative & Thematic Coherence[/b] ☐ Masterful ☐ Compelling ☑ Serviceable ☐ Weak ☐ Incoherent [b]Systems Breadth[/b] ☐ Vast ☐ Broad ☐ Adequate ☑ Sparse ☐ One-dimensional [b]Systems Depth[/b] ☐ Emergent ☐ Deep ☐ Qualified ☑ Exhaustible ☐ One-dimensional [h3]Sensory & Aesthetics[/h3] [b]Art[/b] ☐ Breathtaking ☐ Beautiful ☑ Good ☐ Fair ☐ Poor [b]Sound Design[/b] ☐ Seamless ☑ Immersive ☐ Fitting ☐ Muddy ☐ Grating [b]Soundtrack[/b] ☑ Transcendent ☐ Memorable ☐ Pleasant ☐ Forgettable ☐ Annoying [b]Controls & Interactions[/b] ☐ Intuitive ☑ Attentive ☐ Adequate ☐ Frustrating ☐ Unplayable [h3]Longevity & Value[/h3] [b]Longevity[/b] ☐ Enduring ☐ Substantial ☐ Adequate ☑ Meager ☐ Ephemeral [b]Replayability Structures[/b] ☐ Bottomless ☐ Plentiful ☐ Adequate ☑ Low ☐ None [b]Value Density[/b] (picked up for [b]3,74€[/b] @ -75% off) ☐ Exceptional ☐ Strong ☑ Proportional ☐ Vague ☐ Predatory

【前言】 不知道各位远在他乡的游子，是否会想念父母做的一桌好菜？在这款《Venba》中，我们就化身为一位移民到加拿大的印度女性，用着妈妈那本珍贵的食谱还原妈妈的味道。这本食谱可不只是做菜的指南，更是和家乡紧紧相连的情感纽带。 【烹饪玩法】 游戏里的烹饪玩法，操作起来并不复杂，但相当真实。就拿做印度做“Idli”（蒸糕）来说，我们得先把纱布铺在蒸屉上，再把米糊放进蒸屉里，最后把蒸屉一个个放进蒸锅中，并且要主要相邻蒸屉的气孔要错开，否则会导致上面的蒸糕蒸不熟。总之，游戏中的每道食谱都很详细和还原，感兴趣的说不定可以亲自做一下。 【剧情叙事】 游戏最大的亮点，我想不在于烹饪，而在于它细腻又真实的叙事。随着一道道菜肴被端上桌，这个印度家庭在加拿大的生活故事也慢慢展开。 作为一个移民家庭，一家人会在这片陌生的土地发生各种事情，通过他们的对话，能真切感受到他们在新环境里的遭遇。有时候，孩子在学校因为自己的印度身份被同学嘲笑，妈妈心里满是心疼，却又只能用温暖的话语安慰孩子；有时候，爸爸为了找到一份体面工作，四处奔波，却屡屡碰壁，满脸疲惫。这些故事，并不是什么惊天动地的大事件，只是生活里实实在在的烦恼和挫折，但正是这些点点滴滴，让玩家特别有代入感。 而且，游戏里的对话选项还会影响故事走向，比如孩子问妈妈关于家乡的问题，不同回答会让孩子对自己的文化身份有不同理解，这种互动性，让玩家更深入地参与到这个家庭的生活中。 【视听表达】 游戏采用2D手绘风格。从墙上挂着的印度传统装饰，到妈妈身上的印度服饰和妆造，都透着浓浓的印度风情。多伦多的城市街景也描绘得十分生动，招牌林立的街道、车水马龙的马路，和充满印度特色的家庭形成鲜明对比，很好地展现了两种文化的碰撞与交融。 游戏的音乐以印度音乐为主，用了多种印度乐器。在烹饪的时候，轻快的音乐响起，让人心情愉悦，享受做菜时的休闲时间。音效方面，对烹饪声音的还原相当到位，切菜时“哒哒”的声音、炸菜时“滋滋”的声音、锅碗瓢盆碰撞的声音，大大增强了游戏的沉浸感。 【缺点】 游戏的缺点一是流程太短了，正常玩下来也就1到2个小时。刚沉浸在这个家庭的故事里，还没玩够，就结束了，让人感觉意犹未尽。并且游戏的时间线往往一跳就是好几年，要是能把故事线展开得更丰富些，相信会更精彩。 二是游戏只有英文，没有中文，但考虑到是小成本游戏，并且受众也不是中国人，还算合理。不过游戏英文相对来说简单，阅读难度不大。 【总结】 《Venba》它把印度的美食、家庭，以及移民文化这些元素巧妙融合，用细腻的叙事带给玩家带来了一次难忘的游戏体验。如果你喜欢这种通过生活细节讲述故事的游戏，那《Venba》绝对值得一试。