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"Venba", narrative cooking game where you play as an Indian mom in the Canadian 80s is coming to PS5, Xbox Series, Xbox One, Switch, PC, and Game Pass

WrenchNinja

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Oct 25, 2017
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View: https://twitter.com/venbaGame/status/1637861568036626444?t=CTZab3rEGRO7XA3Ty9dxew&s=19

Toronto-based Visai Games has announced that its narrative cooking game, Venba, will be coming to Xbox consoles (plus Game Pass) and PlayStation 5 this summer in addition to Nintendo Switch and PC as previously announced.

This marks a slight delay from its original spring 2023 release window.

Venba focuses on an Indian mother who moves to Canada with her family in the '80s. Through minigames, players will prepare authentic South Indian dishes, which help to connect her to her old home. Players will also engage in branching conversations to learn more about the immigrant family.
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mobilesyrup.com

Canadian narrative cooking game Venba coming to Xbox Game Pass this summer

Toronto-based indie studio Visai Games has confirmed that its debut title will launch on all major platforms.
mobilesyrup.com mobilesyrup.com


View: https://youtu.be/-qJq9C5V9iM
 
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Jason Frost

Jason Frost

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Oct 27, 2017
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The 80s were more than 40 years ago.

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SlickVic

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Was hoping for a release date confirmation, but I'll take Day 1 on Game Pass.

This and Thirsty Suitors are the 2 games with Indian protagonists I've been looking forward to, especially since games dealing with Indian culture feel very few and far between to me.
 
spad3

spad3

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User banned (2 months): Racist generalizations over multiple posts
I want to support this, but seeing as what's happening in India right now, it's hard to justify any hype for any South Asian representation.
 
Toriko

Toriko

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spad3 said:
I want to support this, but seeing as what's happening in India right now, it's hard to justify any hype for any South Asian representation.
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What is this bullshit? So Indians dont deserve representation because you happen to have issues with the Government?

On topic - So excited about this! Its surreal to see my culture being represented in a video game. Like I never thought I would see the day. Cannot freaking wait to cook a dosa in a videogame. Move over Overcooked
 
spad3

spad3

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makonero said:
I see you didn't read the "Canadian in the 80s" part in your rush to be racist
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Cloud_Strife said:
Fuck off racist.
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Toriko said:
What is this bullshit? So Indians dont deserve representation because you happen to have issues with the Government?

On topic - So excited about this! Its surreal to see my culture being represented in a video game. Like I never thought I would see the day. Cannot freaking wait to cook a dosa in a videogame. Move over Overcooked
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I'm Indian myself. And it doesn't matter if the game says "Canadian in the 80s" it's not releasing in the 80s is it. It's releasing in 2023.

Hard to generate hype about a game that focuses on a culture of people that actively suppresses their own kind.

Look shit up before y'all start pointing fingers.
 
makonero

makonero

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Oct 27, 2017
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spad3 said:
I'm Indian myself. And it doesn't matter if the game says "Canadian in the 80s" it's not releasing in the 80s is it. It's releasing in 2023.

Hard to generate hype about a game that focuses on a culture of people that actively suppresses their own kind.

Look shit up before y'all start pointing fingers.
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So you have problems with Indian-Canadian culture?
 
Stencil

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First of all, I could not be more interested in the premise that is outlined in the title. Sounds amazing.

Secondly, I am so tired of this artstyle. Maybe it's that I'm an illustrator in corporate america, but beautiful and as it is, this style is really starting to blend into the whole "blobby app startup approachable" illustration style I see waaay too often. The texture, detail and context do help differentiate it.
No knock on whoever the art directors and artists that worked on it were, it looks amazing. It's just becoming very homogenous, looks-wise, for someone who is admittedly jaded, despite the amazing premise of the game.

Will add it to my wishlist either way.
 
spad3

spad3

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Busaiku said:
The heck.
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Jonathan Lanza said:
What misrepresentation fella? It's an Indian-Canadian family. What is being misrepresented?
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makonero said:
What is being misrepresented in a cooking game about an immigrant family?
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Toriko said:
Pray tell what is this game glorifying?
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India is currently engaging in a complete media blackout in Punjab and completely censoring free speech while attempting to arrest a publicly known Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh. They limited access to the internet, blocked tons of well-known Sikh personalities and politicians from social media in that region. The Indian government has been very vocal about how they want to suppress the voice of the people - especially reaching out to high-Sikh populace countries like USA and Canada. The Indian government also got involved when Canadian South-Asians attempted to qualify the Canadian Sikh community's opinions regarding Sikh sovereignty as a "hate crime".

So to answer all of your questions - it's glorying a group of people that actively suppress free speech. But yes, let's cook virtual jalebis.
 
Toriko

Toriko

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spad3 said:
India is currently engaging in a complete media blackout in Punjab and completely censoring free speech while attempting to arrest a publicly known Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh. They limited access to the internet, blocked tons of well-known Sikh personalities and politicians from social media in that region. The Indian government has been very vocal about how they want to suppress the voice of the people - especially reaching out to high-Sikh populace countries like USA and Canada. The Indian government also got involved when Canadian South-Asians attempted to qualify the Canadian Sikh community's opinions regarding Sikh sovereignty.

So to answer all of your questions - it's glorying a group of people that actively suppress free speech. But yes, let's cook virtual jalebis.
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Fuck off at equating what the Government does with representation. Seriously fuck off with your bullshit take. Everytime some indian gets represented anywhere there is always someone " But the Indian Government though..."

As if India is a monolith and everyone has the same exact opinion as the Government in power. Do you use this bullshit logic when celebrating representation in other communities?

For once I was happy seeing myself represented in a video game and I have some bullshit take reminding me hey dont celebrate your identity because the Government I did not even vote for did something bad.
 
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Busaiku

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spad3 said:
India is currently engaging in a complete media blackout in Punjab and completely censoring free speech while attempting to arrest a publicly known Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh. They limited access to the internet, blocked tons of well-known Sikh personalities and politicians from social media in that region. The Indian government has been very vocal about how they want to suppress the voice of the people - especially reaching out to high-Sikh populace countries like USA and Canada. The Indian government also got involved when Canadian South-Asians attempted to qualify the Canadian Sikh community's opinions regarding Sikh sovereignty as a "hate crime".

So to answer all of your questions - it's glorying a group of people that actively suppress free speech. But yes, let's cook virtual jalebis.
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What does the Indian government have to do with Indian people, at all.
This game has nothing to with Modi.
 
Kopite

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South Asians are easily the most under represented folk in gaming, glad to see more games like this. Game Pass too, which is great.

spad3 said:
India is currently engaging in a complete media blackout in Punjab and completely censoring free speech while attempting to arrest a publicly known Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh. They limited access to the internet, blocked tons of well-known Sikh personalities and politicians from social media in that region. The Indian government has been very vocal about how they want to suppress the voice of the people - especially reaching out to high-Sikh populace countries like USA and Canada. The Indian government also got involved when Canadian South-Asians attempted to qualify the Canadian Sikh community's opinions regarding Sikh sovereignty as a "hate crime".

So to answer all of your questions - it's glorying a group of people that actively suppress free speech. But yes, let's cook virtual jalebis.
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Wtf kind of shit take is this.
 
spad3

spad3

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Toriko said:
Fuck off at equating what the Government does with representation. Seriously fuck off with your bullshit take.
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Busaiku said:
What does the Indian government have to do with Indian people, at all.
This game has nothing to with Modi.
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Kopite said:
South Asians are easily the most under represented folk in gaming, glad to see more games like this. Game Pass too, which is great.
Wtf kind of shit take is this.
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You'd be surprised at how much the Indian Government has to do with Indian representation, especially when it comes down to media. If this exact game with its exact mechanics involved Sikhs rather than any other South Asian Hindu family and it even remotely mentioned 1984 as the reason for the family's immigration to Canada, the Indian government would be ALL over this shit.

Call it whatever you like.
 
Watershed

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spad3 said:
You'd be surprised at how much the Indian Government has to do with Indian representation, especially when it comes down to media. If this exact game with its exact mechanics involved Sikhs rather than any other South Asian Hindu family and it even remotely mentioned 1984 as the reason for the family's immigration to Canada, the Indian government would be ALL over this shit.

Call it whatever you like.
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This is an indie game made by devs who are making a game that reflect their own lived experiences. Equating a small indie studio making a game that reflects their own culture and heritage with oppressive actions of the Indian government is a hell of a take.
 
Twig

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spad3 said:
You'd be surprised at how much the Indian Government has to do with Indian representation, especially when it comes down to media. If this exact game with its exact mechanics involved Sikhs rather than any other South Asian Hindu family and it even remotely mentioned 1984 as the reason for the family's immigration to Canada, the Indian government would be ALL over this shit.

Call it whatever you like.
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so hang on

you're saying that the indian government would shut down an independent game developer in toronto?

and that because the indian government would do that, this independently developed game is bad?
 
Toriko

Toriko

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Twig said:
so hang on

you're saying that the indian government would shut down an independent game developer in toronto?

and that because the indian government would do that, this independently developed game is bad?
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Apparently South Indian representation is bad because all South Indians = Modi.
 
Bigmac

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spad3 said:
You'd be surprised at how much the Indian Government has to do with Indian representation, especially when it comes down to media. If this exact game with its exact mechanics involved Sikhs rather than any other South Asian Hindu family and it even remotely mentioned 1984 as the reason for the family's immigration to Canada, the Indian government would be ALL over this shit.

Call it whatever you like.
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What a bizarre take, holy hell. This is a wholesome game made by people who want to show their memories and fondness with their own culture, removed from politics. So bizarre bringing that take into a thread about an indie game like this clearly crafted with good intentions.
 
spad3

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Watershed said:
This is an indie game made by devs who are making a game that reflect their own lived experiences. Equating a small indie studio making a game that reflects their own culture and heritage with oppressive actions of the Indian government is a hell of a take.
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These same people out in Canada are the same people that say shit like this

And I probably should clarify - not hating on the devs in any capacity. I reiterate my point that it's hard to justify any hype for any South Asian representation at this point in time due to current events.
 
Stopdoor

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spad3 said:
You'd be surprised at how much the Indian Government has to do with Indian representation, especially when it comes down to media. If this exact game with its exact mechanics involved Sikhs rather than any other South Asian Hindu family and it even remotely mentioned 1984 as the reason for the family's immigration to Canada, the Indian government would be ALL over this shit.

Call it whatever you like.
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I feel like you shouldn't be surprised people would dogpile you for such a brazen generalization and bizarre target, but I found this recent article https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ga...d-in-south-asian-representation/1100-6503195/ interesting when looking this up, where some South Asian devs do briefly touch on how representation can be problematic in games like Call of Duty for the exact reasons you describe. But I feel like you'd find little allies telling those developers they need to give up on representing themselves at all, I don't understand how you think this would go over well with anyone.
 
Sir Sonic

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Thanks for reminding....
Where is the release date guys ?
It's seriously one of my most anticipated indie games of the year. There is just something nice and unique about this game, maybe it's the way that it tackles representation. It feels like fresh and genuine
 
spad3

spad3

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Stopdoor said:
I feel like you shouldn't be surprised people would dogpile you for such a brazen generalization and bizarre target, but I found this recent article https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ga...d-in-south-asian-representation/1100-6503195/ interesting when looking this up, where some South Asian devs do briefly touch on how representation can be problematic in games like Call of Duty for the exact reasons you describe. But I feel like you'd find little allies telling those developers they need to give up on representing themselves at all, I don't understand how you think this would go over well with anyone.
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I don't mind the representation - it's much needed in this particular medium, what I do mind is the social context.

It's like, let's release a game that celebrates and represents X culture while that exact culture is committing acts of civil rights violations.
 
effingvic

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Messofanego said:
Deadly! I can't have more than one haha
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Ramadan starts next week and I am beyond hyped to get my fill of jalebis!

Soooon....

Stencil said:
First of all, I could not be more interested in the premise that is outlined in the title. Sounds amazing.

Secondly, I am so tired of this artstyle. Maybe it's that I'm an illustrator in corporate america, but beautiful and as it is, this style is really starting to blend into the whole "blobby app startup approachable" illustration style I see waaay too often. The texture, detail and context do help differentiate it.
No knock on whoever the art directors and artists that worked on it were, it looks amazing. It's just becoming very homogenous, looks-wise, for someone who is admittedly jaded, despite the amazing premise of the game.

Will add it to my wishlist either way.
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I hear ya. Its an attractive style and easy to animate but its reached peak saturation. I see it everywhere, from childrens books, random items at Target, and in games now too.
 
Watershed

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spad3 said:
These same people out in Canada are the same people that say shit like this

And I probably should clarify - not hating on the devs in any capacity. I reiterate my point that it's hard to justify any hype for any South Asian representation at this point in time due to current events.
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"The same people"? Your generalization is pretty ridiculous. You literally sound like you are blaming the devs for the actions and beliefs of other South Indians.
 
CHC

CHC

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Oh my god I love this idea. I love little low stakes narrative games that are just a nice life, looks adorable
 

reksveks

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May 17, 2022
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People who have a heritage of a culture and some pride in that cultural heritage can release a game that uses that heritage without glorifying the atrocities and stances of the current governments/culture leaders. We don't know what the political position of these devs are and don't know if/how they portray the current Modi government.

I do also find the idea of generalising a whole diaspora very ironic/sad.

I am a British citizen of Indian heritage and obviously don't support the Modi government. I dislike the support that he gets from the community around me but I would not say things that imply that all British Indians support Modi.
 
cartoon_soldier

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This game looks lovely, gonna play it. Thanks Game Pass anyway.

spad3 said:
India is currently engaging in a complete media blackout in Punjab and completely censoring free speech while attempting to arrest a publicly known Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh. They limited access to the internet, blocked tons of well-known Sikh personalities and politicians from social media in that region. The Indian government has been very vocal about how they want to suppress the voice of the people - especially reaching out to high-Sikh populace countries like USA and Canada. The Indian government also got involved when Canadian South-Asians attempted to qualify the Canadian Sikh community's opinions regarding Sikh sovereignty as a "hate crime".

So to answer all of your questions - it's glorying a group of people that actively suppress free speech. But yes, let's cook virtual jalebis.
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They want to arrest a guy who was building his own army, stockpiling weapons, and recently attacked a police station with his supporters.

But in either case, what the hell does this have to do with this game? The game is made by a Canadian studio, they are putting a game out featuring the Indian community which is anyway extremely rare. This should be encouraged, no matter whatever shitty politics are going on somewhere.
 
Firestorm

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spad3 said:
India is currently engaging in a complete media blackout in Punjab and completely censoring free speech while attempting to arrest a publicly known Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh. They limited access to the internet, blocked tons of well-known Sikh personalities and politicians from social media in that region. The Indian government has been very vocal about how they want to suppress the voice of the people - especially reaching out to high-Sikh populace countries like USA and Canada. The Indian government also got involved when Canadian South-Asians attempted to qualify the Canadian Sikh community's opinions regarding Sikh sovereignty as a "hate crime".

So to answer all of your questions - it's glorying a group of people that actively suppress free speech. But yes, let's cook virtual jalebis.
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As a Tamil-Canadian I just wanna throw out that you're a racist twat doing Modi's work for him. This is a show about TAMIL-CANADIAN COOKING and the immigrant experience you dipshit. But yes, let's paint all people of Indian or South Asian descent as the same and complicit in a foreign government's actions.
 
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