In this article, I explore three Xbox Game Pass titles and give my opinion on the gameplay. While two of the reviews will come from my noggin’, the third review will be written by talented, brilliant, amazing writing assistance aka my son. We examine these various experiences together and discuss what we believe makes each game worthwhile to play. Let’s get started and compare these games!

Review 1: Venba
Venba is a brilliant, independent game that combines colorful graphics with storytelling and cooking. Created by Visai Games, this endearing story is all about food, family and tradition.
As a player, you taken on the role of a South Indian mother, Venba, whose family has moved to Canada. While the focus of the game play is following recipes to traditional Indian foods, the heart of the game can be found in the story of Venba and her husband Paavalan, both struggling to find work and acceptance in a foreign country. While some dishes are simple, others are more challenging and require you to depend on flash backs from Venba’s life back in India to complete the recipe. You’ll create meals, from Idlis to Dosa, all of which are crafted from scratch. While Venba does follow the standard aspect of many cooking games, it adds another layer by showcasing different chapters of the main characters life. From finding out she is pregnant to seeing her son off to college, we see Venba’s life play out in each meal.
The relationship between Venba and her son, Kavin, is one of the game’s most compelling (and frustrating) features. While Venba has deep love for her home country and its traditions, her son rejects it. He lets his friends call him Kevin and hides the handcrafted meals his mother makes so he doesn’t smell like “Little India” around his school mates. For most of the game, it is easy to find yourself annoyed by Kavin’s lack of gratitude for his mother’s sacrifices. Especially when he seems to be unconcerned about her efforts and the traditions she is protecting.
As Kavin grows up, he starts to value his mother’s support and the customs she tried to keep alive. By the end of the story, Kavin finally comes to appreciate his mother’s sacrifices, while Venba learns how to let her bird fly the nest and find her own place in life, outside of motherhood.
Aside from the storytelling, the visuals and sound of Venba really bring the game to life. The colorful graphics set in a cozy style help to pull the player further into the game. The playful soundtrack following Venba’s life is heavily inspired by several decades of Tamil Film music and add another layer of fun to the story.
We highly recommend this game if you are looking for more than just gameplay. Venba will allow you to experience the connection between cuisine and familiar ties. The story of Venba and her family will stay with you long after putting down your controller. You may also find yourself in the kitchen crafting one of the delicious recipes. I’m personally adding the “rocket ship” dinner to my list of dishes to try.
Rating: 8.5/10

Review 2: Flock
Flock is an adventure game developed by Hollow Ponds and Richard Hogg, with colorful aesthetics and a chill vibe. It’s vivid colors and soothing soundtrack make this game a great choice if you are looking for something to zone out with. However, if you are anything like me and have a difficult time getting into games without much depth, Flock may not be for you.
In Flock, you ride a big bird (that you can’t directly steer) as you soar through a vibrant landscape. The main objective of the game is to locate and catalog a wide range of odd animal species. The scenery expands as you progress through the story, revealing new locations and creatures. These animals can be charmed to join you on your quest, or you can simply leave them at grassy mounds. You will find additional clothing items and charms to increase the capacity of your flock, as well as cunning Burgling Bewls that have taken your things.
Flock’s colorful and striking visual aesthetic is one of its best qualities. The game’s vivid colors and creative settings provide a calming and visually fascinating atmosphere that is a feast for the eyes. But Flock falters in terms of depth and engagement. The game’s design frequently seems repetitive and ambiguous, and the interactions with the zoologists feel shallow and limited, with their text dialogue being accompanied by a quick grunt that makes Minecraft villagers seem chatty. It’s easy to get bored when there’s no clear guidance on where to go or what to do next.
Flock’s simplicity is something often praised by players but for someone whose favorite “relaxing” game is Stardew Valley, which despite popular opinion is the least relaxing game I’ve ever played, I found it to be lack luster. Maybe it’s because my idea of fun is fighting Shadow Brutes for a Fire Quartz while trying to earn 25,000 gold for a deluxe barn just to get a pig to pull a mushroom out of the ground, so my dead grandfather doesn’t come back in two years to shame my farming abilities. If you are like me and need your games to have a bit of urgency mixed in with your relaxation, you may feel a little lost in Flock due to its calm setting and lack of difficult tasks.
Though the gorgeous graphics and soothing ambiance are impressive, the whole experience could be lacking in a gripping story or engaging gameplay system. Flock can provide a fun diversion for gamers who value a calm, beautiful setting and a game that places less emphasis on difficulty. However, Flock can leave you questioning your brain and wishing for more if, like me, you find it difficult to completely relax and prefer games with more substance.
Rating: 6/10

Review 3 – Writing Assistance Edition: Forager
Forager is a cool 2d open world farming and crafting game. I recommend this game because there is so much to do. There are cool achievements some are super easy like losing at a rigged trivia game and others are harder, like becoming a trillionaire!
There are cool bosses too. Each biome has structures, except the starting grassland biome, and the bosses live in the structures.
There are tons of different weapons and tools. There are normal weapons and tools like swords and pickaxes but there are also more rare ones like the lightning staff.
There’s different type of structures you can craft with different categories industrial (like furnaces and sewing machines), farming (like windmills and fishing traps), economy (like banks and vaults) and magic (like cauldrons and magic scroll makers).
There are alters to sacrifice hearts/HP for power orbs to get cool things like more HP or attack boosts.
It is an achievement-based game where you win by unlocking 100+ achievements. Also, when you unlock the achievements, you unlock little presentations about various Forager related things.
The worst part about Forager is that to get all the achievements you must kill beets that talk, are massive, adorable, peaceful, and have faces for an achievement, but it’s worth it in the end.
Rating: 9.5/10
We hope you enjoyed these reviews and take the time to play these games yourself!