The Strongest Tofu Review (PC)

You can become anything in gaming. I mean, sure, most games will put you in the shoes of human and animal characters. However, The Strongest Tofu seeks to try something new, portraying the main character as tofu. Yes, you read that right. You’ll be playing as the popular Asian bean curd as you navigate obstacle-ridden levels. The goal is to avoid crashing into pieces from drastic falls or getting eaten by the myriad foes you’ll come across. And yes, there are formidable bosses you’ll be taking on, too.

It goes without saying just how quirky the game is. You’ll run into lots of foods and animals rendered in minimalist but charming visuals. The tofu itself is a 3D model that jiggles and wobbles as you guide it to safety. Combined, the game’s environment feels immersive, pulling you into the game from start to finish. Still, you’re likely having doubts about the game. It’s hardly the obvious choice for most veterans. So, we’ve done the heavy lifting for you, tracking down all the reasons why you should play the game.

Launched just in time for Tofu Day in Japan, The Strongest Tofu is now available for download via Steam. Developer Zounoashi Games and publisher Phoenixx Inc. have slashed the price by 10% to $4.49 until October 15, 2024, after which the price will jump back up to $4.99. So, if you’re considering picking up the game, be sure to read through our The Strongest Tofu to know what to expect.

Be the Tofu

The Strongest Tofu literally casts you as a tofu. You know, the soft plant-based protein made from curdled soybean milk. The goal is to guide the tofu across obstacle-ridden levels. You’ll come across lots of enemies and life-threatening traps. However, you must evade all the challenges along the way to reach the revered beanstalk. 

And that’s pretty much it, at least as far as the story goes. And it gets the job done, providing a quirky little premise to get the ball rolling. With the relatively short runtime of roughly one to two hours, you’ll want to jump straight into the action without much ado. 

That said, there are a plethora of things that don’t want you to reach the beanstalk. Spinning cog wheels, forks, spike balls, and falling eggs, to name a few. You could get cooked, jumping from the frying pan into the fire, literally. Or be eaten by the myriad animals you come across. 

Fortunately, you have the power to charge your tofu to evade obstacles or attack foes. You can’t exactly move the tofu. However, you can use your joystick to rotate an arrow on the screen and guide the tofu in the direction you want it to go. It can be anywhere from pushing forward to jumping up or down at different angles.

As much as The Strongest Tofu is a pretty easy game for any gamer to pick up, it can quickly become tricky to master. That’s because the controls require heavy precision to land the tofu exactly where you want. However, if you miscalculate your next move, the tofu can easily fall into spike traps or forks, causing instant death. 

Soft and Supple

The tofu is always jiggling and wobbling around, which helps bring the game to life. You feel like you’re controlling a live creature, even if it’s only a protein. When you factor in the immersive haptic feedback as the tofu topples over and crashes, you get a potentially engaging game.

More so because the levels grow trickier the more you play. Rather than a few forks, you have multiple moving forks that you have to navigate cautiously. You can have multiple spinning cog wheels that have a very narrow window through which to pass. The platforms move, too, adding to more dynamic movement. 

It’s pretty easy to repeat some levels over and over, with slight mistakes being more than enough to cause instant death. Fortunately, the pacing of the game barely slows down, even as you charge forward and faster over time. To spice things up, you’ll soon unlock different types of tofu, including cotton, silk, and koya. These behave differently. 

For instance, cotton is sturdier. However, silk is smoother but more fragile. Meanwhile, koya can more easily withstand higher falls. Depending on each tofu’s strengths, you may need to navigate the stages differently. You could charge up power only to release it in a smash attack and realize that you launched the particular tofu too high into the air. Or perhaps you needed more charge power to ram into enemies and take them down. 

In any case, the tofu is a soft and supple creature that, if it lands too fast on the ground, could crumble. An enemy’s attack could cause too big of an impact than it can sustain, leading to instant death. As you can imagine, there is more than meets the eye in The Strongest Tofu. It needs very delicate movement and keen anticipation of danger. 

Level Up

Given the increasing level of challenge, you can tap into several ways to level up. For instance, you can collect soybeans through the stages. These let you craft more tofu that translates into more lives to last longer in the game. At certain points, you can unlock a power-up that transforms your tofu into a gigantic bean curd that can take on anything you throw at it. This can be the boost you need to jump into a hot bowl of soup making it to the end of the stage.

Ultimately, the controls only need you to operate your joystick and a single action button. This cuts down on complex mechanics, making The Strongest Tofu accessible to any gamer, keeping in mind that you’ll still need to perfect delicate precision to beat the game. 

When you’re looking for a change of pace, you can jump into the Tofu Factory minigame, which lets you produce an infinite supply of tofu. Alternatively, the game adds some pretty neat trivia sections that teach you more about tofu. For instance, did you know that tofu is also called the “meat of the field?” I had no clue.

Presentation-wise, The Strongest Tofu is a charmer. Its minimalist but charming visuals are a delight. They often balance humor and creativity with lots of variety and color. Meanwhile, you’ll play to the beat of exciting music composed by Ryo Nagamatsu of RH Music. The soundtrack perfectly matches the vibe of the game, keeping it light and fun throughout your playthrough.

Spicy and Delicious

Getting to the hot bowl of soul at the end of each stage is always a triumphant joy. You have a timer that keeps you on your toes, all while watching out for traps and enemies. So, to finally hit the jackpot before the time expires feels satisfying. The stages are varied, too, with some taking more time to beat than others. This further adds to the constant surprise upon making it to the end. 

You never know where traps and enemies are going to appear, and neither can you anticipate the likelihood of surviving just long enough. And so, every “tofu life” you have makes all the difference, whether or not you actually use them all.

The freedom to spring into any direction to ram into enemies, clear huge gaps, or solve puzzles keeps your playthrough constantly engaging. There’s always a threat to look out for, whether it’s a frying pan, a hungry crab, or moving platforms that could crash you into oblivion. And with the haptic feedback, you’re always immersed in every jump, fall, or crumble. 

Drawbacks

Once you reach the end, though, you can’t help wishing there was slightly more on offer. Some hidden collectibles to hunt down or shortcuts could have been fantastic, especially for completionists who’d like to spend more time in the game. 

Some puzzles, too, are repeated across the levels, which can sometimes slow down the pacing, although the stages never became too repetitive to detract from your playthrough.

Verdict

The Strongest Tofu is one of the most memorable games you’ll remember once you’ve put your controller down, not for its high-quality gameplay but for its lighthearted platforming nature. The game takes a ridiculous concept and turns it into a viable playthrough for newcomers and veterans alike. 

Playing as tofu instantly kicks in as you scramble to reach the legendary beanstalk. Despite the myriad of challenges that come your way, most of which are far-fetched ideas yet intensely fun, you still are pressed to reach the end. Even if you may have to redo some stages over and over, the light and fun nature of your playthrough keeps you going. 

Plus, it doesn’t overstay its welcome with a roughly one- to two-hour playthrough and brisk pace. Created by an actual tofu master, The Strongest Tofu dares to dip its toes in the strange and weird realm of platforming, and after a couple of hours with the game, I’d say the developer nailed it.