Xbox Game Pass has been host to many of the most acclaimed indie games of the past few years withTunic,Vampire Survivors, andHollow Knightbeing some of thebest games currently available on PC Game Pass. By being available on the increasingly popular Game Pass service, indie games that players might have otherwise missed out on are now far more accessible. The inclusion of these games is one of the biggest examples of Microsoft highlighting indie games in a manner similar to Nintendo’s Indie World presentations.
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A highlight from theNovember 2022 Indie Worldpresentation wasVenba, a narrative cooking game from developer Visai Games which was announced to be releasing for Switch and PC. A new announcement made today by theVenbaTwitter account shows that the game will now be coming to PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S this spring. Additionally,Venbawill be launching on Xbox Game Pass, joining the service’s growing roster of indie games.
Venbatakes place in 1980s Canada and has players in the role of the titular Venba, an Indian mother who immigrated to the country with her family. Cooking inVenbais treated similarly to puzzles in adventure games as players must follow recipes in a specific order but with the added inclusion of authentic Indian cooking and a story revolving around family and food. Games such asThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the WildandStardew Valleyhave included cooking as a mechanic similar to crafting, butVenbafalls more in line with moreimmersive cooking gamesthat have cooking as the primary gameplay mechanic likeOvercookedandEpic Chef.
Some of the most prominent and influential indie games in recent years are those that play on older styles of game design that are not as common today. This can be seen withTunicwhich is consistently compared toThe Legend ofZeldagames likeA Link to the Pastbut with many of its own original ideas.Venbasimilarly plays off of classic adventure games like theKing’s QuestandMonkey Islandseries but with a culinary and cultural twist that makes it distinct. WithVenbaslated to release this spring, gamers with Xbox Game Pass will not have to wait much longer to see what it brings to the table.
Venbawill release for PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in Spring 2023.
MORE:Nintendo’s Indie World Showcases do a Great Service for Cultural Stories like Venba
