"Think well before you act and never hesitate while you are in action." These are the words with which the video game opens All the games, written on the calendar of July 14, 1988, the start date of the adventures of the Venba video game. Venba, named after a classic form of Tamil poetry, moved to Canada from southern India along with her husband Paavalan. Following the course of events that concern this family, from 1988 to today, is a bit like turning up our nose and trying to capture a distant and very good smell: with a little effort we will be able to precisely perceive its contours, its nature, its origin. Because Venba is a story with universal power, which has a sweet and bitter taste, like life itself.
Developed and self-published by small studio Visai Games with financial support from Ontario Creates, Venba is a concise narrative cooking game, able to get straight to the point. Its duration of just two hours is not a weak point, but a strong point in a panorama of great blockbusters that try to keep us inside their virtual worlds for as long as possible. Completely respectful of the player's time, especially if he is an adult, and therefore forced to manage a busy schedule of activities, Venba is perfect for spending an evening immersed in the bright colors of Tamil delicacies and the bittersweet unfolding of life. of its protagonist.
We tell you about her, her family and her extraordinary recipes in ours. venba review.
How do I cook these idlis?
On July 14, 1988, Venba is not feeling very well. Forced to stay in bed for a few days due to severe nausea, she is still trying to gather the strength to prepare a good lunch for her husband Paavalan, who does not know how to cook and is about to go to work. There life in canada of Venba and Paavalan, belonging to the Tamil ethnic group and from southern India, is not at all easy, and trying to maintain contact with their homeland through their favorite recipes is one of the few ways they have to not sink in concern for nostalgia and economic limitations.
Venba decides to open the notebook in which her mother wrote down all the recipes. Unfortunately, this treasure of knowledge was damaged during the long journey they undertook to reach Canada; The abrasions force Venba (and the player accompanying her) to use her intuition in order to cook the best idli of her life. Resembling soft, white crepes, the idlis manage to put a smile on the faces of Venba and Paavalan, and the news that comes from the medical examination that the woman decides to undergo makes their day even better: Venba is pregnant, and that is why the couple He decides to endure and increase his efforts to look for stable jobs on Canadian soil, abandoning the idea of returning to India.
through gods time jumps, we will find ourselves following the story of this family over the years. Perhaps the cooking sessions could have been better integrated into the story on some occasions, but despite this the very high quality of the writing - capable of shining with sensitivity, naturalness and authenticity - makes the player become attached to Venba and her secondary characters. . soon. After that, those characters enter our hearts to stay. Starting from Venba's mother's recipe book, Visai Games builds a narrative framework capable of providing a universal message, brilliantly conveyed through Cooking game mechanics. chosen by the team.
(Re)discover a culture
La kitchen, at Venba, is never just for oneself: it is a means to transmit deep and authentic feelings, to make loved ones understand the love we feel for them. The presence of a damaged recipe book makes the game take on slight (and pleasant) puzzle overtones. Don't worry: we can always retest a preparation in case of error and we have suggestions available if necessary.
Not that it is necessary, because the clues that the game gives, combined with Venba's memories of her mother's cooking recipes, are always enough to reach the solution and continue the adventure. "Solving" a recipe gives great satisfaction and allows the story to continue at a good pace in its different parts. During our cooking sessions we will be able to open a small menu to obtain information about the recipe and the ingredients used, discovering more about Venba and her family. He is a sentimental food story, seen more as food for the soul than for the body, and appreciable in an almost physical way by the user: the Visai Games team cooked all the preparations several times to capture its colors and essence, working excellently on the sound front to Offer players lively and vibrant dishes, capable of awakening curiosity about Tamil culture.
La colonna sonora, full of warm and exuberant music, further contributes to building a well-characterized experience, perhaps only comparable to that Coffee Talk that knew how to combine well the art of tea and coffee with a fascinating narrative and sometimes surprising developments. Venba remains firmly anchored to the ground, without imaginative digressions, and in the sparkling crackle of cooking oil it traces universally recognizable paths of life, divided into seven chapters and offering an impeccable experience, even in the technical aspect, on Nintendo Switch. Unfortunately, at the moment there is no Spanish translation of Venba, and our game was developed in English: it must be said that the texts and dialogues are extremely simple and it is the player who dictates the pace, so even those without a level With a high level of language knowledge, they will still be able to take their time to enjoy the experience without too many problems.
Conclusions
Tested version Nintendo Switch digital delivery Nintendo eShop Price 14.99 € Holygamerz.com 9.0 Readers (9) 8.0 your voteVenba is a unique video game experience, capable of giving voice to Tamil culture and, at the same time, conveying a universal message. If you were lucky enough - like me - to have a grandmother who gave you her recipe book, at the end of the game you will run to look for it in tears, and we are sure that you will cook one of the tastiest and most intense dishes of your life. Venba goes beyond the often quite narrow limits of the video game medium, fully understanding the needs of those who want a space for more intimate and personal stories, also capable of charting paths in places, cultures and topics normally little traveled. Excellent in its playful framework and narratively brilliant, Venba is a must-see for those who want to explore the limitless frontiers of video games and the human soul.
PRO
- Excellent writing
- Cooking is simple and fun, but not banal.
- The visual and sound work is of such quality that it seems like you are in the kitchen.
- Perfect from a technical point of view.
AGAINST
- The cooking sessions could have been better integrated into the narrative fabric.
