The game’s simple premise hides a surprising amount of depth

What’s the password? he has a simple idea: To solve more than 100 games of the game, you must enter the correct four-digit password in the numeric field. That may sound like a hindrance. But the simplicity gives creator Dan DiIorio, better known as TrampolineTales, plenty of room to play with creative ideas. For several hours, the game never stopped surprising me.

Puzzle symbols come in many different forms. Some are written; The first puzzle is a sentence that tells you the numbers to hit. But you also have to decode four numbers from things like the flashing numbers of a clock, nonogram puzzles, counting numbers, and even counting the numbers of the teeth on a key. Hints can also get a bit meta, like those pointing to a password on a game screen or info on a menu.

Puzzles can be difficult. I would get a few right away, but most of them, I had to try several methods to see what worked. Fortunately, there is no penalty for wrong ideas, so you can try as many combinations as you like. Some kept me cool for a few minutes. If you have been on puzzles for a while, this game gives you a chance to jump in, and sometimes you can get a clue.

The game is supported by a slow, jazzy soundtrack that revolves around the same song over and over again, and fits well with the black and white gameplay. The whole vibe made me feel like some kind of noir gumshoe. But I also found that a slow drone could help when I was focusing on more complex images; my mind wandered from time to time to random music, and from time to time, those idle thoughts lead me to the solution of puzzles.

In the end, I couldn’t solve it everything. It took me about three hours to work What’s the password?and I finished about 77 percent of the puzzles. But this game reminded me of the importance of patience and good sleep; returning in the morning with fresh ideas and coffee in hand, I often had an easier time thinking about things. Lots of fun What’s the password? and I can see the unexpected looks that will be thrown at me later, and that’s what gives it such an easy idea of ​​depth.

^{What’s the password? is out now on PC via Steam, iOS, and Android.}