Preview – Wax Heads

I would work at a record store. I’m not much of an audiophile, but I do have a bunch of albums on vinyl. Radiohead, Modest Mouse, Jim Guthrie, Elliott Smith, The Shins before James Mercer decided it was a solo effort, uh, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Beck, Primus, Duke Ellington, Metric. Not much of an audiophile. I play guitar. Still, I know video games and everything else is peripheral. But I’d work in a record store because I like being around passionate people.

Wax Heads interested me for a few reasons beyond the core concept being working at a record store. Its art style is fab, but the biggest draw is that I wanted to know how you could create a game around making music recommendations to people based on purely fictitious bands.

No, you know what? The biggest draw for me is the fact that Wax Heads is outwardly a game made by passionate people.

AUDIOPHILE

I gave it away already; Wax Heads is about working in a record store. You’re the new hire. Your boss was the front lady of an ‘80s Goth band that had a very public falling out. So, the game doesn’t only focus on the day-to-day, but also includes a plot with the store owner’s past coming back to haunt her. There’s the old-fashioned threat of the store closing, but it’s maybe just a rumour.

It’s interesting! The cast is a diverse bunch of eccentrics. Most appear to be in various local bands. Wax Heads is very outwardly queer. As a non-raging pansexual, it feels rather comfortable. But even still, attention has been given to their personalities, points of friction, and it feels like they have a life beyond what they say directly in front of you. It comes across as really authentic, even when it’s being a bit ridiculous, and I believe that’s going to carry the game well.

As I mentioned, all the music is fictitious. Except, sometimes you’ll get tracks added to your jukebox that you can listen to. They’re ascribed to the bands, and even the albums you’ll sometimes come across. Not that it will likely help when it comes to making recommendations, but it is pretty cool. I found some of the songs in the demo pretty agreeable, so that’s a bonus. At the very least, they lay down a good vibe, along with the default background music.

YESTERDAY I WOKE UP SUCKING A LEMON

The gameplay is unspectacular, but still rather enjoyable. With the music being fictional, you’re going to have to learn on the fly. A person comes in and will say that they’re looking for something by a certain artist, and it has something specific on the cover, and it will be up to you to investigate. One of my favourite encounters asked for an album by an artist, but before he joined with his current band. So, I had to find the band, find the band member’s name, and learn what their band previously was to find the album. And I was so enthused from finding it, that I forgot he mentioned a note had been slipped into the cover by a friend, so I didn’t look into it.

Some of them are more abstract. One lady’s shirt got wet in the rain, so she asked for an uplifting album to cheer her up. So, I went through the inventory to find the happiest album I could. So, I handed her a rap album that was supposedly energetic, and she’s like, “What’s this depressing bullshit?” I later realized that there was an album in the store with a cover that had a pattern matching the lady’s shirt, and that was obviously what I was supposed to give her. But then, Wax Heads also told me that I shouldn’t be basing my recommendations off obvious things like a person’s appearance, so I guess her shirt didn’t count?

I did well, most of the time. After the couple of mistakes I made, I realized there was something else I should have done, such as what I just recounted. However, you can choose a mode that sounds like you can just retry any recommendation you fail, but I have a lot of experience in living with mistakes.

MY MIND IS FILLED WITH RADIO CURES

So, there isn’t a tonne of complexity to the gameplay, but it’s sort of elevated by what’s around it. You wander the store looking for albums, which is kind of neat, even if I found the method of traversal (arrows at the edges of the screen) disorienting. I’m sure I’d get used to it.

You have to open the store every morning by pulling the shutters. Each album comes with an opinion blurb that gives an idea on the vibe of the album and maybe some of its history. You can flip it over to view the track listing, and even check out the wax itself. It’s a little bit of tactility that shows an affection for the concept. They also seem like something that would be fun to put together, from a creative perspective.

The art style is also outstanding. It really comes alive with simple but vibrant colours and an abundance of detail. It’s rough in all the right ways, giving it an edge that looks like it’s straight out of a “zine.” If I understand “zines” correctly, that is.

DO YOU CARRY 8-TRACK?

It’s interesting to me that the two games I’ve connected with most during Next Fest are games about working in retail. I’d give that some self-reflection, but I hated working in retail. Never again, if I can help it. It’s okay in video games, I guess.

But I’d totally play the full version of Wax Heads, it’s good vibes. It’s like a bath with scented candles in video game form. I’d say “with your favourite record playing,” but that would suck unless you have someone to flip it for you. But Wax Heads has the trajectory to hit somewhere good. It’s got the personality, it has the atmosphere, and it has the soundtrack. Definitely check it out.

You can check out the demo for Wax Heads right now as part of the February 2026 Steam Next Fest.