Despite having Spotify on nearly all day every day, I wasn’t always a huge music fan. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always liked it, but I was more of a “buy an album for a single track” person rather than a “hang around a music store all day sampling everything” guy. It’s a bit of a regret, as I adore music of all genres now but never got to capitalise on the gamut of music stores that were common when I was younger.
The thought of getting new and interesting recommendations from actual human beings rather than an algorithm is exciting, but unfortunately doesn’t seem quite as simple now that I’m 36 with very little free time. Wax Heads is a game that bottles that feeling, that culture and that experience of being in a community of passionate music lovers and uses it to tell a story that will keep you hooked until the end.
You take the role of the unnamed Kid, a new employee at Repeater Records. The store is run by Morgan, a former superstar who rose to fame in pop outfit Becoming Violet alongside her friend Pat, boyfriend James and sister Willow. As is often the case with global megastardom, things went wrong, people got betrayed and Morgan took herself away from the limelight and turned to selling music rather than making it. Wax Heads quickly sets this scene before turning into a story about a ragtag group of friends trying to stop “The Man”. A slimy corporate overlord is trying to take the art and expression from music and turn it into a commodity that can be optimised and monetised, and every beat from the 7 hour runtime is bursting with passion for the community that builds around the music scene.
This is partly down to the exceptional cast of characters. You’ll spend most of your time with the half-dozen other people that work at Repeater Records, and they quickly become your adopted family. From the outspoken Paul, who’s always serving and slaying (as the kids say) to Matteo, who in his 40s is questioning the journey that brought him to the store, I loved all of them. The cast is incredibly diverse, and it reflects not only the breadth of people united by music but the diversity of the artists and albums themselves.
Alongside your co-workers you’ll also quickly learn more about your customers, many of whom you’ll see multiple times throughout the game. They’re packed with personality, both in their dialogue but also in their designs, with subtle hints to their musical tastes often adorned on their person. I really enjoyed my time getting to know them, and you often feel like your actions are impacting their character growth. One little girl, who you meet early in the game, first comes in trying to find her first record and she has no idea what she likes. Subsequent visits see her becoming her own person and learning about her tastes and it’s lovely to see her grow. One of my favourite stories in the game involved me “matchmaking” an intergenerational pair of customers who were both dealing with loss, and then watching their friendship grow throughout the rest of the game.
Repeater Records itself is an unforgettable setting for these stories too, feeling real and lived in, even as someone who never spent much time in these kinds of shops. Shelves are stuffed with not just records, but musical knick-knacks, handmade zines and other bits that make it feel like the sort of place a music fan can truly call home. Hearing the shutters scrape up the walls as you open up each morning before heading to the cluttered staffroom for a morning briefing with your team creates a setting that feels grounded despite the bright and cheery visual style.
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You’ll spend each shift serving the eclectic mix of locals that patronise Repeater Records. Someone will sidle up to the counter, you’ll have a chat about anything from the biggest discounts available in-store to the latest album by pop princess Mimi. You’ll glean a bit of insight into their musical tastes, their feelings and the type of record they’re after and then it’s off to browse the shelves and find something that’ll speak to them.
These almost feel like mini investigations at times; while some customers will outright say they want the latest album from punk outfit Sister, most requests are a lot more vague. One bloke comes in regularly with album requests from his cousin whose attention to detail is… lacking. He’ll usually give you a misheard album or artist name and you’ll need to try and determine what he’s actually referring to. Others go even deeper, requiring you to pay close attention to their clothes, tattoos or even flick through Insta-like social app Phonogram or pick up a new music zine to find additional detail that’ll help you recommend the right record. These interactions are always engaging, and while some bordered on being a little too obtuse, I always enjoyed them as I wanted to see how my decisions would impact their lives.
As expected in a game described as “cosypunk”, the visuals are simply lovely. Everything has a bold, chunky look to it, with environments packed with details and characters full of personality. Album artwork is a highlight, with everything from pink bubblegum pop to hardcore metal and punk covers that assault your senses. It’s great to see so much care put into these, considering you’ll spend a lot of time poring over the album jackets and even the vinyls themselves.
Wax Heads also features a soundtrack as varied as the shelves in Repeater Records. The in-universe bands all have tracks that can be unlocked on the store jukebox, and a quick tap on your phone lets you put together a playlist for the day. I listened to every single track as they unlocked, quickly finding favourites and being pleasantly surprised by genres I don’t often listen to. As good as these songs are, the real standout for me is the instrumental background music, which is simply excellent and perfectly matches the game’s shifting tones. Melancholic indie guitar twangs soundtrack a grim and rainy day, while toe-tappingly upbeat tunes put a spring in your step on sunny days. When I first booted up the game I happily sat on the menu screen for a few minutes just taking in the music, and even my wife, who seemingly only listens to emo music and the Hamilton soundtrack, was humming along to these tracks. My own vinyl collection is rather piddly, limited to a half dozen video game soundtracks but the minute Patattie Games announces a Wax Heads vinyl I’ll be there to pre-order.
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It’s the story and the connection with music, characters and Repeater Records that make Wax Heads so special for me. It explores some topics that I didn’t expect, with one ongoing storyline about the creation of a new AI-powered music platform really making me consider my own relationship with physical media and consumption-as-a-service. The game’s finale brought a lump to my throat too, as pressure that had built up throughout my time with these characters was finally released in a truly heart warming way.
Wax Heads is a special game. In its relatively short runtime it makes you feel a sense of connection and community with a large cast of characters that most games take three times longer to do. You’re united by your love of music and your passion for independence, and it’s all wrapped up in a David vs. Goliath story where you’re firmly and proudly one of the underdogs. Whether you spent your youth hanging around in a record shop or just wish you had, Wax Heads is going to speak to you and you should absolutely play it.
