Four-digit password puzzler turns a tight rule set into varied challenges
The Verge says What’s the Password? uses more than 100 four-digit code puzzles to build a compact but inventive indie game.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
2 min read
What’s the Password? asks players to crack four-digit codes, but The Verge says the narrow setup gives the game room for a wide range of puzzle ideas. In a June 27 review, Jay Peters described the indie game as a compact collection of more than 100 challenges built around entering the correct password on a number pad.
Peters attributed that range to solo developer Dan DiIorio, who is also known as TrampolineTales. According to the review, the game’s fixed format does not keep it from changing how each answer must be found, and Peters said it continued to surprise him over several hours of play.
Many routes to a four-digit answer
The Verge said the puzzles use several kinds of clues. Some are written directly, including the opening puzzle, which Peters said tells the player which numbers to enter through a sentence.
Other puzzles ask players to pull a code from visual or logic-based prompts. Peters listed examples that include reading blinking numbers on a clock, solving nonograms, working through arithmetic and counting the teeth on a key.
The review said some clues also point outside the immediate puzzle prompt. Peters cited challenges that refer to a password shown on the game’s cover art or to details found in menus, giving some puzzles a more self-referential quality.
Challenge without punishment
Peters said the game can be difficult, with some puzzles taking minutes to solve. He wrote that he could answer a few quickly, while many required testing multiple possible solutions before finding the right one.
The Verge said the game does not penalize failed attempts, allowing players to keep entering combinations. According to Peters, that design makes experimentation part of the process rather than a risk.
The review also said the game offers help when players are stuck. Peters reported that a skip option can appear after enough time on a puzzle, and that hints are sometimes available.
A spare presentation
The Verge described the game’s presentation as restrained. Peters said it uses only black-and-white visuals, paired with a calm, jazzy soundtrack.
According to the review, the music consists of one looping song. Peters said that track fits the game’s visual style and puzzle-focused pace.
The review places What’s the Password? among the indie games The Verge is currently highlighting. Peters framed it as a small game whose strength comes from how much variation it finds inside a single repeated action: entering four numbers and seeing whether they unlock the next idea.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.