A Game About Digging a Hole Review (PC)

Minecraft has been real quiet since A Game About Digging a Hole came knocking at its front door. Why? Well, you might’ve thought that the real treasures are often the ones you unearth in the bottomless depths of a procedurally generated block-centric world, but the fact of the matter is, there are a few more secrets that loom beneath the surface — and not in Minecraft, either. And, as with any hole that promises good luck or immeasurable fortune, it isn’t exactly uncommon for people to carve deeper into these pockets for the sake of waxing their curious minds. In this case, there is a hole, but not a hole that harbors volcanic portals or gleaming diamonds, but—if you can believe it—an even greater hole. Believe it.

A Game About Digging a Hole is all about turfing up your backyard for, you know, reasons. As the proud owner of a new allotment, it falls to you to carry out the most basic of agricultural tasks — digging. Is there a purpose for this particular project? Not really, no — but that’s not the point. The point of the game, if you can fathom it, is to explore the underbelly of your makeshift empire, mine ores and other resources, sell them for additional upgrades and components, and dig even deeper until, I don’t know, you’ve managed to locate the source of the Nile or something. Think of it as an idle clicker, except you have fewer reward to return to once you part ways with the shovel. That, in essence, is A Game About Digging a Hole — and it couldn’t care less about your interpretation of it.

Just Keep Digging

A Game About Digging a Hole isn’t really a game that needs any kind of formal introduction, for it is, in short, a game that doesn’t beat around the bush; it beats the ground, with a shovel…repeatedly. And that, funnily enough, is the extent of the situation; it tasks you with digging a hole, exploring said hole, and then using the materials from your underground exploits to unlock and obtain better items of interest. Is there an endgame to chase? Maybe — but I never made it there, for I was far more concerned about the safety of my neighbor’s pet dog than the bottomless cesspit that was breaking the fourth wall between my home and the devil’s detention center. Still, there were holes, so — yay?

The game begins with a simple instruction: DIG. With access to a shovel, a plot of land, and a couple of basic necessities, your primary goal is to make a dent in the earth, and use your tools to acquire upgrades that either let you boost your drill radius, inventory capacity, or battery life. From there, it’s merely the case of adding new tools to your belt, like dynamite, for example, which allows you to blow even greater chunks in the ground and descend even further into the network. Simply put, you dig, collect, and begin the natural cycle from scratch in exchange for even greater and far more valuable items and equipment. It’s an incredibly simple process, yet one that has the primitive ability to pique your imagination the deeper you descend into the tunnels.

Just a Spoonful of Ore

Herein lies a simple gameplay loop that, although as basic as it sounds, is still surprisingly fun to subject yourself to. Alright, so it’s digging for the sake of digging — but that doesn’t mean that it’s without its rewarding qualities. It’s a lot like gambling, in a way; you catch a minor glimpse of what could potentially be, and then spend a little more cash on boosting your chances of obtaining even greater payouts in later rounds. Granted, not every spin leads to a good result, but little by little, each time that you come back with just a smidgen of ore, you’re able to upgrade your tools and gradually increase your repertoire of skills.

There are several ores to mine in A Game About Digging a Hole—natural resources that range from stone, coal, iron, copper, and silver. Naturally, the deeper you carve into the soil, the higher the chance you’ll have of accruing a better yield and, with that, more bang for your buck. It’s a bit on the low end of the spectrum as far as compelling processes go, but with plenty of tunnels, crags, crevices, and an entire custom labyrinth to explore, it makes it so that each trip is unique and engaging. Well, that is until you lose track of your pre-planned route and deplete the battery power of your headlamp. That’s a whole other story altogether.

Mining at the Source

It’s a bit of a slow burner, that much is painstakingly obvious. But then, that sort of comes expected from these sorts of rags-to-riches progression systems; they rely on your patience and tenacity, and reward those who choose to stick around for the long haul. In other words, if you cannot simply persevere, then it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be able to survive long enough to evolve and prosper. It’s getting to that point in time, that’s the problem. Sure enough, the initial portions of the journey aren’t all that great, as it’s more or less the case of hitting clumps of mud with a shoddy shovel that’s about as sturdy as a paper sledgehammer. Having said that, the game does open up its corridors quite a lot after a handful of trips into the abyss. And that’s when it becomes not only easier, but more inviting.

A Game About Digging a Hole is a pretty good-looking game with a lot of character of its own. Well, I say that as if it to openly state that it’s a mesmerizing work of art. For the record, it isn’t, but its vibrant visuals and bottomless textures are a neat addition to the palette. It’s cute, playful, and surprisingly pleasant to look at — even when you have already ventured to the darkest depths of its world and back several times over. That’s all you can really ask for from a game that is literally about digging a hole. Well played.

Verdict

A Game About Digging a Hole is going down as one of those things I’d soon rather forget about than remember as the thing that single-handledly stole a handful of hours of my time and never gave back. I have no regrets, but again, I’m almost confused as to why I spent so long chiseling through the dirt with a shovel. Did I have anything to show for my efforts? Eh — I had a few slabs of silver and a nifty jet pack. Would I do it all over again? Annoyingly, yes, but probably not in the near future, given the fact that the mirage of dirt and ore is still lodged in my brain like two peas in a pod.

If you’re easily swayed by simple concepts that aren’t overly taxing on the brain, then you ought to pour a couple of hours into A Game About Digging a Hole. It isn’t quite on the same page as Deep Rock Galactic — but I can see what it was shooting for, and it wasn’t a terribly written love letter to its chosen influences. The fact that its price of admission is a couple of bucks, or the equivalent of a small cappuccino from your local coffee shop is another reason why you should consider it. And if all else fails, then hey — at least you, you know, dug a hole.