A glance at Wax Heads might make someone think it’s about assisting customers at a record store, but it’s not just some shop management simulation. It’s an investigation! Everyone wants something, but what? They may not even know! It’s up to us to pick up on contextual clues to work everything out. Though, thanks to the nature of the game, it could be as demanding or forgiving as we want based on the accessibility options we choose.
Wax Heads puts us into the shoes of the newest employee at Repeater, a record store owned by former rocker Morgan. After her band Becoming Violet broke up following her little sister Willow’s solo debut following fellow band member (and Morgan’s former love) James producing it, she went into selling instead of creating. As you go through the day-to-day of assisting customers, you’ll also learn more about what happened to Morgan’s band and family behind the scenes.
The first thing about Wax Heads is that there isn’t too much hand-holding. Our first shift essentially acts as a tutorial. We’re taught how to listen to customer requests, then head out into the shop to find our recommendations. If you chose the No Refunds option at the start of the game, you’re locked into whatever you suggest. You can’t redo it if, after hearing the person’s response, you realize you picked incorrectly. The Customer is Always Right option lets you retry if you realize you didn’t get it perfectly, taking a penalty in the process. You can switch at any time, and I felt the No Refunds option felt a bit more realistic and made me think more critically when selecting.
The downside to this is that it doesn’t explain everything. For example, I didn’t realize everywhere I could explore at the start. I was almost completely through my first shift when I realized I could walk to the “front” of the store to find more options. (I’d been staying in the few areas just near the register!) On the plus side, the tutorial does remind people that you really need to examine records to figure out what to recommend. So even if it isn’t total handholding, it does point out important bits.
I appreciate the approach, as Wax Heads honestly doesn’t feel like a shop management simulation once you get into it. It feels more like a puzzle game. Each shift, people are giving you clues as to what they want. You need to investigate and go off of what they might have meant. A Sister record with a rain cloud on it? An unspecified band name album with your only insight being Hank “left a note” on it to make sure you’d save it for a customer coming in? Music that involves “harmonious singing” when it comes to vocals? The “most recent” album by a specific artist? You need to look everywhere, at everything, flipping the front and back of the vinyl albums for insights and looking at the included write-ups by different critics and the actual LPs themselves to be sure.
But what I love even more is how it makes you think critically. It isn’t just about solving the puzzle. It’s about reading into the in-world lore and references to pick up on details to ensure you do your job right. A teenager comes in after seeing an add for the group Sister’s new album Door to a Light. Do you give her what she asks for? Or do you keep in mind the conversation you had with coworkers before the shift begins and the other details before deciding what to sell?
Especially since it all looks so distinctive and feels so immersive. We’re only handling a set number of customers during a shift, so it doesn’t get tedious and we get the character-based interactions with coworkers and Becoming Violet hints. The music shifts day-to-day, with a fantastic and varied soundtrack. The artistic direction is distinctive, with a punk sort of approach in some ways. But at the same time, all the visuals are quite clear, which is helpful when it assists with clues to finding the records we need.
I did notice some minor issues in the Switch version of Wax Heads. It can take some time to load up when transitioning to certain elements, such as notice board organization or flyer decoration. Since touch-screen controls didn’t seem to be supported, this also means selecting and moving items on these screens a little finicky too. These seemed really minor, however. Also, since those creative elements don’t penalize you for not being perfect or doing your own thing, it isn’t like a little inconvenience hurts the experience.
If you want to do well in Wax Heads, you need to pay attention to the people, writing, art, and music around you. There’s a line in the tutorial that suggests “records are like puzzle boxes,” and that’s very true. You never know when taking the time to actually look at the LP itself or investigate the back notes could result in finding exactly what the customer is looking for. Which, in turn, makes the experience all the more satisfying for you as a player.
Wax Heads is available on the Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.