Dan DiIorio, the solo developer behind the successful roguelike deckbuilder Luck be a Landlord, announced What’s the Password on December 7, 2025. The minimalistic puzzle game challenges players to deduce 4-digit codes from straightforward visual prompts across over 100 puzzles. If you’ve ever played an immersive sim where cracking door codes was the best part, this entire game delivers that specific satisfaction. The Steam page is now live for wishlisting with a planned 2026 release.
The Concept Behind It
What’s the Password distills down one of gaming’s most satisfying micro-puzzles: the keypad code. Games like Deus Ex, System Shock, Dishonored, and countless others feature moments where you need to figure out a 4-digit password to unlock a door or safe. Usually these are optional side content or environmental storytelling devices, but occasionally finding the right code through observation and deduction feels incredibly rewarding.
DiIorio recognized this specific satisfaction and built an entire game around it. Each puzzle presents you with visual clues that hint at the correct 4-digit combination. Maybe there’s a calendar with certain dates circled, a sticky note with cryptic writing, a photograph with numbers visible in the background, or mathematical patterns embedded in the environment. Your job is examining these clues carefully and inputting the correct password.
The 0451 Easter Egg Question
One commenter on the Reddit announcement immediately asked if 0451 would be one of the codes. This is a famous easter egg in immersive sim games referencing Looking Glass Studios, the legendary developer behind System Shock, Thief, and other genre-defining titles. The number 0451 was allegedly the code to Looking Glass’s actual office door, and it became tradition to include it as the first door code in immersive sims.
Games like Deus Ex, BioShock, Dishonored, Prey, and Deathloop all reference 0451 in various ways, sometimes as actual codes and sometimes as clever subversions. Whether DiIorio includes this specific reference in What’s the Password remains to be seen, but given the game’s focus on decoding passwords, acknowledging gaming’s most famous password would be appropriate.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Developer | Dan DiIorio (TrampolineTales), solo developer |
| Previous Games | Luck be a Landlord, Maze Mice |
| Genre | Minimalistic puzzle game |
| Core Mechanic | Decode 4-digit passwords from visual clues |
| Puzzle Count | Over 100 puzzles |
| Platform | PC (Steam) |
| Release Window | 2026 |
| Aesthetic | Minimalistic design |
The TrampolineTales Portfolio
Dan DiIorio has built an impressive catalog of successful indie games under the TrampolineTales brand. Luck be a Landlord launched in full release on January 5, 2023, after an extended Early Access period. The roguelike deckbuilder casts you as a tenant using a slot machine to earn rent money, adding symbols to the machine with unique synergies to create cascading combos and overcome capitalism. The game became a viral hit with overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam.
Maze Mice, his second major release, is a bullet heaven roguelite where time only moves when you move. Taking inspiration from Pac-Man, you collect dots, avoid cats, and upgrade your mouse through increasingly challenging mazes. The turn-based time mechanic allows for strategic planning despite the bullet heaven genre typically emphasizing real-time chaos. Maze Mice launched on Steam Early Access on July 11, 2024, and later came to mobile platforms.
DiIorio also created numerous jam games and smaller projects available on his itch.io page, including The Evidence Room (a 48-hour Ludum Dare game), Plenty of Plants (another game jam entry), and Lunch Break Battle (a two-player game that adapts to your actual lunch break duration). His development philosophy emphasizes tight, focused concepts executed with clarity rather than scope creep.
The Minimalist Puzzle Appeal
What’s the Password continues the minimalist puzzle game trend exemplified by titles like The Witness, A Monster’s Expedition, and Patrick’s Parabox. These games strip away tutorials, narrative framing, and hand-holding to present pure puzzle-solving experiences. The satisfaction comes entirely from the aha moment when you understand the pattern or logic behind the solution.
The minimalistic aesthetic also serves practical purposes for solo developers. Without complex graphics, animations, or narrative production, DiIorio can focus development resources on puzzle design, progression pacing, and quality-of-life features. The simple visual presentation means players focus entirely on the clues rather than getting distracted by flashy effects or environmental details.
Over 100 Puzzles Worth
Advertising over 100 puzzles suggests What’s the Password aims for substantial content rather than a quick novelty experience. If each puzzle takes 2-5 minutes to solve, that translates to 3-8 hours of gameplay for completion. Factor in puzzles that stump players requiring breaks and return visits, and the total engagement time could easily stretch to 10-15 hours.
The puzzle count also hints at variety in clue types and difficulty scaling. Early puzzles likely feature straightforward single-clue solutions to teach the basic logic. Mid-game puzzles probably require combining multiple clues or making logical leaps. Late-game puzzles might feature red herrings, require outside knowledge, or demand extremely careful observation of subtle details. This progression curve keeps the experience fresh across the entire puzzle set.
FAQs
When does What’s the Password release?
Sometime in 2026, though no specific date or even quarter has been announced. The game was just revealed on December 7, 2025, so it’s very early in the announcement phase. Wishlist the game on Steam to get notified when a release date is confirmed.
How much will it cost?
Pricing hasn’t been announced. Luck be a Landlord is $9.99 on Steam, while Maze Mice is also $9.99. Given What’s the Password appears simpler in scope with no roguelike meta-progression systems, it might price lower around $5-7, though this is speculation until official pricing appears.
Will there be hints if I get stuck?
Not confirmed, but most puzzle games include hint systems to prevent complete roadblocks. Whether What’s the Password uses tiered hints, full solutions after attempts, or leaves players entirely on their own remains to be seen. DiIorio will likely address this closer to release.
Is there a story or just puzzles?
The minimalistic description and announcement materials emphasize pure puzzle-solving without mentioning narrative framing. This suggests puzzles exist for their own sake rather than being woven into a story. However, environmental storytelling through the visual clues themselves might create implied narratives.
Can puzzles be solved in any order?
Unknown. Puzzle games either lock progression behind completing previous puzzles or allow freeform selection. Given the difficulty likely scales across 100+ puzzles, some amount of gating seems probable to prevent players from hitting extremely hard puzzles too early.
Will it come to mobile?
Not announced, though both Luck be a Landlord and Maze Mice came to mobile after PC releases. The simple input requirements (observing clues and entering 4-digit codes) would translate perfectly to touchscreens, making mobile versions plausible eventually.
Is 0451 really one of the codes?
Dan hasn’t confirmed this yet, but it would be shocking if gaming’s most famous door code didn’t appear somewhere in a game entirely about cracking codes. Whether it’s a straightforward puzzle or a meta-reference remains to be seen.
Do I need to play Luck be a Landlord first?
No, What’s the Password is completely unrelated to DiIorio’s previous games. There’s no shared universe, characters, or mechanics. You can play this as your first TrampolineTales game without missing anything.
Why One-Mechanic Games Work
What’s the Password represents a growing trend of hyper-focused indie games that take one satisfying mechanic and explore it thoroughly rather than creating sprawling experiences with varied gameplay. Games like PowerWash Simulator (pressure washing), Unpacking (organizing belongings), and A Little to the Left (tidying objects) prove players appreciate depth over breadth when the core mechanic is inherently satisfying.
Cracking codes scratches specific psychological itches: pattern recognition, logical deduction, and the eureka moment when everything clicks. By isolating this mechanic from larger game contexts, DiIorio can refine the clue design, difficulty curve, and quality-of-life features without worrying about combat systems, narrative pacing, or other traditional game elements. For players who’ve loved those code-cracking moments in immersive sims but wished entire games focused on them, What’s the Password promises exactly that experience. The 2026 release gives DiIorio ample time to design 100+ clever puzzles that maintain freshness throughout while avoiding repetition or frustration. If he can match the polish and player satisfaction of Luck be a Landlord, What’s the Password could become the definitive password puzzle game.