Venba
Venba is a short, bittersweet game that follows the life of a Tamil woman named Sheela as she immigrates to Canada in the 1980s. The gameplay is reminiscent of Cooking Mama or Diner Dash, with you using a damaged recipe book to recreate dishes from her heritage as she raises her daughter and navigates the challenges of living in a foreign country. But the experience is much deeper than that, and a striking example of the power of indie games to explore topics that mainstream media might otherwise ignore.
Venba is a love letter to Tamil culture and the first-generation immigrants who have helped shape Canada’s cities. The game’s unapologetic representation of Tamil culture and Sheela’s experiences as a woman and mother are refreshing. The game tackles topics that are rarely discussed in Western media, such as the complexities of gender roles and motherhood, and the pain of feeling the need to minimize parts of your identity to fit in.
The gameplay primarily revolves around cooking, with you using Sheela’s damaged recipe book to recreate dishes from her heritage. Sheela’s daughter Maya is frustrated with her mother for this, as the two cannot communicate well due to the language barrier. The game includes a memory mechanic that helps you piece together each recipe and makes you feel a bit more connected to Sheela’s story.
There’s also a sense of loneliness and isolation that the game captures as you play – this is a common theme in games about Immigration. In Venba, it’s mostly due to the language barrier between Sheela and her daughter. You’re also unable to read signs or understand directions given by characters, which helps to recreate the immigrant experience.
The art, music, and storytelling are all excellent. The art reflects the unapologetic representation of Tamil culture mentioned earlier, with references to Tamil movies and music that I recognized immediately. It’s clear that the developers put a lot of thought into the story and making sure it was representative.
As someone who grew up in the same city as the game is set (and as an Indian), I can vouch for how well it captures both the broad immigrant experience and the intimate family dynamics. Even though I haven’t experienced what Sheela has gone through, I can relate to the way she feels about the city, about fitting in, and about her daughter. And I’d recommend the game to my Indian friends without hesitation. I hope it reaches a wider audience so more people can experience it.
That said, there are a few points I wish I could clarify to give a more balanced view. Cooking gameplay is repetitive – you basically just press the same button to cook, serve, and clean dishes, though you do get to use different utensils. Also, while the story is excellent, I found the gameplay itself to be a bit repetitive and, at times, frustrating (though I’m willing to give a pass because the intent is to show the frustration of the immigrant experience).
Venba receives a score of 4/5.
