Venba

Introduction

Venba follows the title character, a South Indian mother, as she immigrates to Canada with her husband and son in the 1980s, cooking recipes passed down and rediscovered across decades of family life, loss and cultural adjustment. Developed and published by Visai Games, it released 31 July 2023 for NZ$21.99, currently discounted 75% to NZ$5.49. Over two years on, it holds 3,698 Steam reviews sitting at Very Positive, roughly 92.6%, with recent sentiment running notably stronger at 97% across its most recent 100 English reviews — a gap that lines up closely with the game's price having come down substantially since launch. This review reads a substantial share of both the negative and positive samples, and finds a story earning some of the most personal, specific praise in this review's experience, set against a length-and-price complaint that dominates the sample almost entirely on its own.

A story that lands with genuine, specific emotional weight

Start with what draws this review's most striking praise: Venba's handling of immigration, cultural identity and the quiet sacrifices first-generation parents make resonates with real specificity rather than general sentiment. Multiple reviewers who identify as Tamil or South Indian, some describing moving countries themselves, credit the game with capturing an experience rarely represented with this level of accuracy — one reviewer described calling their mother over the moment the game's Tamil text appeared on screen, watching her face light up in recognition. Another, speaking from lived experience of the same migration path the game depicts, specifically credits Venba with representing South Indian culture and food in a way broader "Indian" media rarely attempts with this much specificity. Music and sound design draw consistent, strong praise for reinforcing that emotional register throughout.

A near-unanimous complaint about length and original price

Set against that praise, this review's sample shows overwhelming agreement on a single practical point: Venba is very short, and its cooking mechanic is thinner than its premise suggests. The large majority of reviewers finish the game in under two hours, several specifically noting completion times between 45 and 90 minutes, and describe the actual cooking gameplay as largely clicking and dragging ingredients through simple prompts rather than anything resembling puzzle or simulation depth. At its original NZ$21.99 price, this drew consistent, specific pushback — reviewers who otherwise praised the writing explicitly argued the length and gameplay didn't match the cost, with several suggesting a price around a quarter of the original would make the recommendation easy. That complaint appears to have been heard: at its current 75%-off price, several reviewers who were critical of the original asking price specifically say the calculation changes, and this review's own read of recent sentiment — running notably higher than the lifetime figure — is consistent with that shift.

Final Verdict

Venba earns its Very Positive standing through a story this review's sample credits with genuinely rare emotional specificity, particularly from reviewers speaking from lived experience of the exact migration and culture it depicts. What keeps this from a higher score is a near-unanimous, entirely fair complaint about scope: a one-to-two hour runtime with minimal actual cooking mechanics sold initially at a price many reviewers felt didn't match what the game delivered. At its current discounted price, that calculus shifts meaningfully in the game's favour. Go in expecting a brief, narrative-first experience rather than a cooking simulation, and Venba delivers something genuinely moving in the time it asks of you.