Venba is 2023’s Most Underappreciated Gem

When I sat down to play Venba a few months ago for a review, I found myself curious and apprehensive. I was curious because I find food to be a wonderful way to understand cultures and share experiences. I was apprehensive, however, because it was marketed in some ways as a visual novel. I think we all know how uneven visual novels can be in terms of quality.

My experience with Venba was nothing short of exceptional. I think it shows in my review, but I don’t believe that I have played a game quite like Venba before. It has the attention to detail regarding the food that I can only compare to the Cooking Mama franchise in terms of detail. Everything from the sound of things frying to the visuals of each ingredient and dish is curated with so much love and care.

When you focus on the narrative itself, however, it takes on another layer of beauty. The story at its core is one of family, and how food and culture are bound together. Even more than that, it showcases the depths of the love of a mother and wife, shown through food. I reviewed Venba in August and lost my mother in October. Now, looking back at the game I realize even more just how profound some aspects of the story are.

That is the reason I think Venba is an unsung hero of the Indie gaming space in 2023. Where Baldur’s Gate 3 brought intimate character relationships to the forefront for the first time since the Bioware RPGs of yesteryear, Venba focused on intimate family dynamics. Sometimes family is complicated, and some families aren’t healthy.

However, food is just as important for our identity as anything else. We are built from building blocks of things we ate as children, some recipes that may be lost to time. The phrase “you are what you eat” is true in a historical sense. We are built from the history of the foods that nourish us. The gumbo my father makes every year is packed with history from my father, his mother, her family, and all sorts of people before them.

In that way, Venba nails its goal. It strikes a sharp note that blends fun cooking mechanics with a profound story of family. Its only downside is that it isn’t longer, though I suppose that just means it doesn’t overstay its welcome. It might not have the depth of thousands of hours of replay value of Baldur’s Gate 3, or the imaginative crafting of Tears of the Kingdom, but Venba is a masterpiece in a smaller scope.

My biggest hope in years to come is that more developers take the ideas of Venba and carry them on. Even more so, I’d love to see the developers of Venba (Visai Games) get the recognition they deserve and go on to make even more impactful games. Venba is one of the shorter games I played this year, but I’ll carry it with me for years to come.