A Game About Digging A Hole Review

It is literally a game about digging a hole. I’m unsure if I like it and why I keep playing; however, it is addictive. You have to beat the game for the first time before achievement mode unlocks, but it unlocks the achievements you should have gotten in the first run when you start it up.

Approximate amount of time to 100%: 3h+, the game time is mostly determined by the speedrun achievement
Estimated achievement difficulty: 6/10
Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 2+
Is there a good guide available: Yes, here
Multiplayer achievements: No
Missable achievements: Yes, the speedrun achievement
Grinding Achievements: No, but keep in mind that the whole game is grindy
DLC-Only achievements: No
Speedrun achievements: Yes, you have to reach the ending within 30 minutes
Time-gated achievements: No
RNG-achievements: No
Does difficulty affect achievements: No difficulty option
Unobtainable/glitched achievements: No

As I already mentioned, I’m not sure if I like this game. I have a hard time explaining why I like idle/clicking games in general, but this one is even more questionable because you can’t idle at all, and all you’ll see is your shed and the hole you’re digging. However, I kept playing and kept giving the speedrun achievement a try, so clearly, something is still addictive. Is it just that the numbers go up?

Some of the things that are questionable to me are that when playing with a mouse and keyboard (which I prefer over a gamepad in this specific game), you have to keep clicking until you unlock one of the last shovel upgrades, and then you have to hold the mouse button. While on a gamepad, you can already hold the right trigger from the start to keep digging.

And the achievements will not unlock during your first playthrough is weird. It seems to be a designer choice, and if you finish the game and press “continue,” you’ll unlock those that you have gotten the required requirements retroactively, but why not just unlock them while you are on your first playthrough, as little rewards for that you keep going on? From what I read is that the speedrun achievement unlocks after finishing that run, and then press continue in the main menu, so be sure to get back into your save after giving it a try to see if you really didn’t get it.

While most of the achievements are earned naturally, the one for rainbow ores is only possible after finishing the first run and starting a new game in ächievement mode.” As stated, there is a speedrun achievement that requires you to finish the game within 30 minutes. This is quite challenging.

I give A Game About Digging A Hole 2,5 out of 5 stars.

This review for AGameAboutDiggingAHole was written on 8 February 2025, based on the current Steam version of the game which has 10 achievements at the time of writing this review. This information can be outdated, for example, when the developer adds or removes achievements or releases (new) DLC.