I first became familiar with Palattie Games’ Wax Heads during a ponderous browse of Edge #397 and was pleasantly surprised to see a demo dropping for the game shortly after. It’s a delightful proposition on the surface, describing itself as a ‘cosy-punk slice-of-life narrative sim about managing a struggling record store,’ which, as a ever-growing fan of vinyl, made me unsurprisingly interested in familiarising myself with everything Wax Heads has to offer.
The demo opens up to some band-related drama (of course) before dropping you right into the shoes of Repeater Records’ new employee. There’s a quick comforting familiarity to this struggling record store, especially with its comic book visual style and a general unkemptness that makes things feel more like an untidy bedroom from your youth as opposed to the streamlined insides of your closest HMV.
The other aspect of Wax Heads that made me feel at home was the perspective from which you interact with the stores eccentric customer base from. My mind immediately clocked a vague similarity to Lucas Pope’s infamous border control simulator Papers, Please, something which was further reiterated by the overall gameplay loop that Wax Heads quickly chucks you in to. Granted there’s less gripping political commentary here, making things a whole lot more wholesome and laidback, although this is just a demo so who knows were things will go in the full game!
Instead of processing passports and visa applications you’re tasked with helping every customer who comes through the door find the perfect record to join their collection. Your first keen customer is a Mimi super fan, this universe’s Taylor Swift, who is excited to spin her latest release. An easy enough way to slowly get you up to speed with how Wax Heads core premise unfolds, leave the counter, navigate through the store and pick out Mimi’s newest chart topper (there’s even a new sticker to keep things clear) before running it through the till and sending her on her happy way.
Each sale is rated on a three-point scale, indicating there’s a defined ‘right’ choice for each scenario, but Edge’s preview of the game noted that co-creator Murray Somerwolff hints that the there is a possibility that alternate paths may materialise in the final release. That would be pretty cool, and I hope that that level of experimentation is possible to open up the possibility to head through Wax Heads a few times as I feel like this will be a short, albeit incredibly sweet, experience.
Heading back to the demo though, the puzzle of selling the perfect record ramps up in various ways with each customer I served after this gentle introduction. One was keen for me to hunt out a bargain, so I naively grabbed the first record I could find on sale, the aptly named ‘Self Deprecating Toast & Jam’ and popped it in a bag for them. They were satisfied with the choice but left with a stinging comment that they feel there was a better bargain to be had. Turns out I had missed an even larger discount in my haste to impress on my first day!
My personal favourite customer was Billie, who let me know the shop’s owner, Frank, had left a record aside for complete with a note. It turns out that this is Billie’s own new release and his record label were too stingy to even spare him a copy! A damning indictment of the modern music industry if I ever saw one, but also a moment in which left me wishing nothing but good things for Billie and hoping he’ll be a returning character in the full game, albeit buying someone else’s record!
And that’s pretty much where this demo wraps up. And I am left wanting more, much more! I don’t anticipate that Wax Heads will be the longest of games but I don’t mind that at all. This is the kind of experience that will perfectly wrap up over the course of a weekend’s afternoon and I can’t wait to experience that…
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