Wax Heads Review — Find Your Record

There’s an almost indescribable nature to your local record shop. An almost pungent aura hangs in the air, seeping deep into the fibers of everything that resides within and those who choose to enter. To a first-timer, this vibe might feel pretentious and intimidating, steeped in ego, as if the store’s regulars, as well as those who work there, turn their noses up at you for being uninitiated into their community and are happy to gatekeep you from joining it. Though this is occasionally the case, more often than not, you’ll find this space and those who inhabit it to be inviting, united by a shared love of music in every form and genre it takes. The places themselves defy convention, their unmistakable aura born from a place of culture and community: a record store, especially the smaller ones, is a temple built to house and share music, mankind’s oldest and most beloved kind of art, and that comes with an inherent intimacy that you don’t get from a lot of other businesses.

The whole thing feels almost like a capitalist contradiction, like a library of sound where the records would be on loan for free if running such a place wouldn’t utterly ruin the owner. The record itself almost feels like a communal symbol, one that represents freedom, artistry, and, somehow, something all the more tangible than Spotify playlists or even CDs: a refusal of convenience or profitability in favor of delivering art in its purest form.

If everything I just described makes no sense to you, if you’ve been to a record store and never felt like it was anything more than a place to buy music, then Wax Heads isn’t a game for you, as it’s a title completely built upon that unspoken sense of community and artistry that a small-time record shop provides.

Wax Heads is the definition of a cozy game, built for players to relax and unwind rather than chase high scores or defy insurmountable odds. In this game, you work at a small record store, but your goal isn’t to rake in the cash and slowly expand into a music-selling empire. Instead, this small, intimate experience is not necessarily about selling as many records as possible, but helping people to find the right records. The title seeks not to emulate the business itself, but rather the intimate experience you can absolutely have at the right record shop: helping someone connect to the music they want, even if they don’t know what it might be.

Gameplay consists of a simple process: a customer enters the store and requests a record. These requests can be quite detailed, asking for a specific artist or type of music, or they can be vague, recalling aspects of a cover they saw once or a genre they might like to listen to. It’s then up to you to search the store, pull the right record off the shelf, and deliver it to them. This simple process is made more endearing and interactive with a ton of small minigames and widgets, like the ability to print the receipt yourself and fill it with butt emojis.

Built around this mechanic is a heartfelt story involving the game’s wide cast of characters. I won’t get into it, but clearly the narrative was designed around the intimate nature of your job: you get to know people, and you get to really care about them, all beginning with the seemingly innocuous task of a record recommendation.

It’s important that you understand what Wax Heads is and what it isn’t before you buy.

The game is not a complex store simulator where you earn a lot of money and expand. It won’t play like your TCG or Grocery Simulator titles, and there isn’t a lot to do outside of your day-to-day tasks. The title is much more like a visual novel, built around a fun, albeit simple, find-the-record game that can be compared to a puzzle game or even Where’s Waldo? The main gameplay loop is essentially a bunch of small riddles with widgets and stickers thrown in to help keep your attention.

What the game has a lot of is heart: it tells a story, and one full of and fueled by its characters. The people you meet are fun, friendly, and unique, and the story that plays out around you is low-stakes and heartwarming. The art is gorgeous, and the writing is cute, albeit certain audiences might not vibe with the more “Gen-Z” or “online” style dialogue. I personally didn’t mind it, and I felt like some of the characters spoke like I do with friends, but I understood immediately that some audiences wouldn’t feel the same.

For a measly $15 ($12 if you buy during the launch offer), you can’t really argue with Wax Heads. It’s an adorable and charming game, one built for relaxed players who want a sweet and memorable experience. It might not take you an incredibly long time to beat it, but that’s fine: personally, I feel like if the game was too much longer, it might have started to overstay its welcome. Like a genre of music, it isn’t for everyone, but there’s no harm in giving it a try: you might just love it.

Try Hard Guides was provided with a Steam code for this PC review of Wax Heads. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on our Game Reviews page! Wax Heads is available on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.