{"id":73259,"date":"2026-10-01T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=73259"},"modified":"2026-10-01T18:08:58","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T09:08:58","slug":"cryptic-japanese-nintendo-switch-excavation-game-requires-you-to-use-a-guitar-controller-like-a-makeshift-shovel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/cryptic-japanese-nintendo-switch-excavation-game-requires-you-to-use-a-guitar-controller-like-a-makeshift-shovel\/","title":{"rendered":"Cryptic Japanese Nintendo Switch excavation game requires you to use a guitar controller like a makeshift shovel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Japanese indie developer <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/moaijp?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Takahiro Miyazawa<\/a> released the excavation simulator <strong>Isekibori<\/strong> (which translates roughly to \u201cRelic Dig\u201d) 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u907a\u8de1\u6398\u308aPV\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/D1g77Xbdnxw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/20261001-001-header.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-73262\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/20261001-001-header.webp 1600w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/20261001-001-header-380x214.webp 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/20261001-001-header-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/20261001-001-header-1536x864.webp 1536w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Isekibori features a grip strength gauge that uses the guitar\u2019s 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 \u201cKids Mode\u201d reduces the amount of pressure needed to fill the grip strength gauge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to the base game mode, a 2D mini-game called \u201cMini Ruin Digging\u201d allows you to play the game with a regular controller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"ja\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83c\udfb8\u30ae\u30bf\u30fc\u304c\u300c\u30b7\u30e3\u30d9\u30eb\u300d\u306b!?<br>\ud83d\ude06\u7279\u6b8a\u904e\u304e\u308b!!<br>\u300c\u907a\u8de1\u5800\u308a\u300d\u672c\u65e5\u30ea\u30ea\u30fc\u30b9<br>\u3053\u3093\u306a\u6025\u306a\u89d2\u5ea6\u306e\u4ed8\u3051\u65b9\u3042\u308a\u307e\u3059??<br><br>\u3010\u7279\u8a2d\u30da\u30fc\u30b8\u3011<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/emXs33T974\">https:\/\/t.co\/emXs33T974<\/a><br><br>\ud83d\udc44\u300e\u58f0\u30de\u30cd\u30ad\u30f3\u30b0\u300f\u306eMIYAZAWORKS\u69d8\u3088\u308a<br>\u672c\u65e510\/1\u767a\u58f2\ud83d\udc31\u307f\u3083<br><br>\u306a\u3093\u3084\u308f\u3051\u308f\u304b\u3089\u3093\u3051\u3069\ud83d\udcaa <br>\u904a\u3073\u305f\u3044\u306b\u6c7a\u307e\u3063\u3066\u308b\uff5e!! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/KrDS4k0kRp\">pic.twitter.com\/KrDS4k0kRp<\/a><\/p>&mdash; HORI \/\u30b2\u30fc\u30e0\u5468\u8fba\u6a5f\u5668\u306e\u30db\u30ea (@HORI__OFFICIAL) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/HORI__OFFICIAL\/status\/2105494736157216971?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 1, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To commemorate the release of Isekibori, HORI is <a href=\"https:\/\/horistore.com\/shop\/pages\/isekihori_guitarlife-campaign.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">offering a bundle<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s 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\u2019s fondness for weird controllers, it\u2019s likely that he would not mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Isekibori is available for <a href=\"https:\/\/store-jp.nintendo.com\/item\/software\/D70010000089657\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Nintendo Switch 1 and 2<\/a>. The Nintendo Switch 2 version can only be played in Japanese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/20221102-16527\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TENGA provides sex toy for one disabled gamer\u2019s homemade chin controller<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?s=ketsu+battler&amp;ct_post_type=post%3Apage\"><strong>Japanese butt-controlled fighting game gets official esports tournament. \u201cNot a single button press needed\u201d<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Isekibori (which translates roughly to \u201cRelic Dig\u201d) released on October 1 for the Nintendo Switch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":73261,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","autoblue_enabled":false,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","autoblue_publish_document":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-73259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - 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AUTOMATON WEST","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/cryptic-japanese-nintendo-switch-excavation-game-requires-you-to-use-a-guitar-controller-like-a-makeshift-shovel\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Cryptic Japanese Nintendo Switch excavation game requires you to use a guitar controller like a makeshift shovel - AUTOMATON WEST","og_description":"Isekibori (which translates roughly to \u201cRelic Dig\u201d) released on October 1 for the Nintendo Switch.","og_url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/cryptic-japanese-nintendo-switch-excavation-game-requires-you-to-use-a-guitar-controller-like-a-makeshift-shovel\/","og_site_name":"AUTOMATON WEST","article_published_time":"2026-10-01T12:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2048,"height":1152,"url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/20261001-73259-header.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Carlos \"Zoto\" Zotomayor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@AUTOMATON_ENG","twitter_site":"@AUTOMATON_ENG","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Carlos \"Zoto\" Zotomayor","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/cryptic-japanese-nintendo-switch-excavation-game-requires-you-to-use-a-guitar-controller-like-a-makeshift-shovel\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/cryptic-japanese-nintendo-switch-excavation-game-requires-you-to-use-a-guitar-controller-like-a-makeshift-shovel\/"},"author":{"name":"Carlos \"Zoto\" Zotomayor","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/2812ca8facd5f161edfbc531cf81eb31"},"headline":"Cryptic Japanese Nintendo Switch excavation game requires you to use a guitar controller like a makeshift shovel","datePublished":"2026-10-01T12:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/cryptic-japanese-nintendo-switch-excavation-game-requires-you-to-use-a-guitar-controller-like-a-makeshift-shovel\/"},"wordCount":432,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/cryptic-japanese-nintendo-switch-excavation-game-requires-you-to-use-a-guitar-controller-like-a-makeshift-shovel\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/20261001-73259-header.webp","keywords":["News (Japan-related)"],"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/cryptic-japanese-nintendo-switch-excavation-game-requires-you-to-use-a-guitar-controller-like-a-makeshift-shovel\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/cryptic-japanese-nintendo-switch-excavation-game-requires-you-to-use-a-guitar-controller-like-a-makeshift-shovel\/","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/cryptic-japanese-nintendo-switch-excavation-game-requires-you-to-use-a-guitar-controller-like-a-makeshift-shovel\/","name":"Cryptic Japanese Nintendo Switch excavation game requires you to use a guitar controller like a makeshift shovel - 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