Japanese indie developer Takahiro Miyazawa released the excavation simulator Isekibori (which translates roughly to “Relic Dig”) on October 1 for the Nintendo Switch. As a connosieur and creator of weird controllers himself, Miyazawa designed the game to be played using a HORI Guitar Life controller (which comes bundled with the guitar learning game Guitar Life: Lesson 1). Isekibori repurposes the controller and turns it into a makeshift shovel which you can use to dig up relics.
Isekibori features 8 stages set in a house backyard. Gameplay revolves around shoveling soil and debris surrounding buried artifacts, whereupon they can be collected. Later levels feature bigger artifacts which make for longer and more interesting digs.
Using the guitar requires gripping it by the neck with both hands and driving it downward in a shoveling motion. A Joy-Con attached to the controller registers your movements and translates them into the game, whereupon you can raise it to dig up the soil.
Isekibori features a grip strength gauge that uses the guitar’s fret sensors. For the game to register the controller, you must ensure that your fingers are firmly gripping the section with the sensors and that the grip strength gauge is full. While not explicitly described as such, this feature is likely to ensure that players are holding the controller properly. A lighter setting called “Kids Mode” reduces the amount of pressure needed to fill the grip strength gauge.
In addition to the base game mode, a 2D mini-game called “Mini Ruin Digging” allows you to play the game with a regular controller.
To commemorate the release of Isekibori, HORI is offering a bundle that includes the digging game as well as its own Guitar Life: Lesson 1 (complete with guitar controller). The bundle costs 8,680 JPY (roughly $55 USD) and will be available until October 13.
It’s worth noting that Isekibori costs 700 JPY ($4 USD), making the game cheaper than the controller you need to play it. Then again, some fans always find ways to buy or make their own controllers that work with the software. Given the developer’s fondness for weird controllers, it’s likely that he would not mind.
Isekibori is available for Nintendo Switch 1 and 2. The Nintendo Switch 2 version can only be played in Japanese.
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