Wax Heads turns a record shop into a game about finding the right album

A writer once recalled a bookstore friend who complained about customers who couldn’t remember what they wanted — “I think it had a red cover,” they’d say. That flustered feeling carries over into Wax Heads, but the game is more than a puzzle about identifying a record by its cover.

Set in Repeater Records, a struggling hub for a town’s music scene, Wax Heads plays like Strange Horticulture with punk instead of plants. The shop promotes local bands and zines, and the story hints that putting on a gig might be the thing that saves it. Tone and style sit between Empire Records and High Fidelity, with Scott Pilgrim’s art sensibility adding a comic edge.

The staff and regulars are all rounded characters with their own stories. Finding what customers want means exploring a mazy store, following a daily music press and an Instagram-like feed called Phonogram, and even reading people’s clothing for taste clues. Some patrons are simply forgetful, while others want recommendations that match their preferences.

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