This puzzle game’s simple premise hides surprising depth

What’s the Password? has a simple concept: To solve each of the game’s more than 100 puzzles, you have to type in the right four-digit password on a number pad. That might sound like a limited constraint. But the simplicity gives solo developer Dan DiIorio, better known as TrampolineTales, lots of room to play with clever ideas. Over the course of a few hours, the game never stopped surprising me. Puzzle clues come in several different formats. Some are written text; the very first puzzle is a sentence that tells you what numbers to punch in. But you’ll also have to decipher four-digit codes from things like the blinking digits of a clock, nonogram puzzles, solving arithmetic, and even counting the number of teeth on a key. Clues can get a little meta, too, like ones referencing a password on the game’s cover art or information in menus. The puzzles can be tough. I’d get a few right away, but for most, I’d have to try a few solutions to see what worked. Fortunately, there’s no penalty for wrong guesses, so you can try as many combinations as you want. Some stopped me cold for minutes at a time. If you’re stuck on a puzzle for a while, the game will give you an option to skip it, and occasionally you can get a hint. The game is backed by a calming, jazzy soundtrack that loops a single song over and over, and it pairs well with the game’s entirely black-and-white visuals. The whole vibe made me feel like some kind of noir gumshoe. …