Hands-On With Venba

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1sWfV2LAjb9KCLWaDbYrX1

Tons of indie games come out every day, and it feels like a good amount of them end up on Game Pass.  This is not a knock on the new way that games are distributed, in fact this is a great thing because games like Venba would end up flying under the radar if it was something I had to pay out of pocket for. That's not a knock on the quality, however when the option arises to pay $20/month to play a ton of both first party and indie games, it does open up options to try out things that otherwise would have been skipped purely based on the risk that comes from paying out of pocket for a game that one may not know about the quality of. Venba is one of these games with some great storytelling that defines the game while the gameplay itself takes a back seat.

Fundamentally, Venba is an immigrant story about a couple who moves to Canada to build a new life and connect through food. The most interesting aspects of the game are the cutscenes that detail the life this couple and their family are trying to build while the least engaging comes from the puzzle aspects where the player has to cook various foods through what is mostly guess-and-check testing combinations of ingredients and tools. It is in this gameplay that the player is actively involved in the game, which does set some enjoyment back.

That said, if one is willing to push through the cooking sections the story itself is worth the playthrough alone. There is a level of emotion to the game that makes it a worthwhile narrative to playthrough and, despite the shortcomings in gameplay, when it ends one will probably wish the game was longer. This is a must-play game for anyone who likes narrative-driven experiences.

★★★★★