I’ve been writing about music for almost 10 years now and listening to it intently for three times as long, so it didn’t take much to sell me on Wax Heads. From Patattie Games, a scrappy duo from the UK, this is a beautifully charming indie game based on deduction about music and everything it encompasses and represents. There’s a new demo out for it now on Steam and if you love music enough to still have a physical collection of it despite streaming’s monstrous takeover, you’re going to want to read on.
As the new kid working at a record store ran by a former music star whose time in the limelight is long past, it’s your job to learn about your customer base on the spot and recommend them an album to fit their always quirky, sometimes vague needs. Listen to their request and any details they let loose about themselves, then stroll around the store to find something that fits. It can be as obvious as supplying a pop star stan with her obsession’s latest record or trying to find something that uplifts a tired dad corralling two hyperactive kids around town while shopping.
The new Gecko Jester record rips!
The charm is abundant in the art style and design. Painstakingly drawn, colored, and animated by the devs, every person you meet is uniquely presented. The records around the shop are vibrant and diverse, taking clear inspiration from the medium and its myriad of ways to sell an album with a cover. Click on an album to get a closer look and read a bit about it with flavor text or short review from an in-world critic. You can pull out the vinyl disc itself to see the colorway and label and flip the cover to see the track list and other details on the back that may hold clues as to the best recommendation for your customer. It’s an experience captured in a level of detail that proves to me Patattie Games are as much of a fan of music as I am.
You’re not always dealing with music though. As an employee of Repeater Records (which I’m convinced is a reference to Fugazi’s legendary debut album since the devs seem to love punk-based music), you’re also tasked with organizing bulletin boards in the staff room or even designing show fliers for local bands. You can also use the store’s jukebox to play tunes both by bands in Wax Heads‘ world like indie rockers Girl Junk and from our world like the theme song to indie eyesore (complimentary) shooter Post Void.
There’s no wrong way to do up a show flier
You also catch up with your fellow employees from time to time, spreading the latest gossip or hearing about goings-on around town whether it’s a new show coming up or how the store owner’s estranged sister whose music career is far from over is in town. The personalities are relatable. You have the gay activist who makes DIY zines, the hustler who spends her time on the clock being a would-be agent for her friends’ band (allegedly), and the burly and anxious dude who fronts a punk band called Da Knees. Learning more about them is genuinely cool even if dialogue options and paths are pretty limiting.
Really though, the focus is on the customers for the most part. Meeting everyone and trying to decode what they need (even if it’s not what they claim to want) is fun and challenging. I played on the demo’s “no refunds” mode which means my decisions were locked in once made, no take-backs, no do-overs, but the option is there for a more guilt-free and less stressful experience. It didn’t take long to feel the drive to explore the whole store to help one customer, navigating the rows of records around customers poring over the backs of records with laser precision, or coasting close to the kids in line to play the Diggy Doggo arcade cabinet in the corner of the place.
Kid B would love SmashPad
As someone that prides himself on being able to recommend new, cool music to my pals and being good at it, Wax Heads just hits all the right buttons. It’s also surprisingly emotional with one customer interaction in particular – an ashen-haired widower looking to reconnect with music he and his late husband listened to early on in their relationship – making my lips curl up and eyes water with how sweet it was. It’s apparent from this two-hour demo that people and community are the most important aspects of this game, and music is the medium that connects us all to each other in seen and unseen ways.
As stated before, Wax Heads has a new demo out right now on Steam so you too can dive on in, click around, and be engrossed in its empathetic world made for music heads or just anyone with a heart. The full game is out real soon on May 4, 2026 for Steam on PC, Switch, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.
I’ve been writing about music for almost 10 years now and listening to it intently for three times as long, so it didn’t take much to sell me on Wax Heads. From Patattie Games, a scrappy duo from the UK, this is a beautifully charming indie game based on deduction about music and everything it encompasses and represents. There’s a new demo out for it now on Steam and if you love music enough to still have a physical collection of it despite streaming’s monstrous takeover, you’re going to want to read on.
As the new kid working at a record store ran by a former music star whose time in the limelight is long past, it’s your job to learn about your customer base on the spot and recommend them an album to fit their always quirky, sometimes vague needs. Listen to their request and any details they let loose about themselves, then stroll around the store to find something that fits. It can be as obvious as supplying a pop star stan with her obsession’s latest record or trying to find something that uplifts a tired dad corralling two hyperactive kids around town while shopping.
The new Gecko Jester record rips!
The charm is abundant in the art style and design. Painstakingly drawn, colored, and animated by the devs, every person you meet is uniquely presented. The records around the shop are vibrant and diverse, taking clear inspiration from the medium and its myriad of ways to sell an album with a cover. Click on an album to get a closer look and read a bit about it with flavor text or short review from an in-world critic. You can pull out the vinyl disc itself to see the colorway and label and flip the cover to see the track list and other details on the back that may hold clues as to the best recommendation for your customer. It’s an experience captured in a level of detail that proves to me Patattie Games are as much of a fan of music as I am.
You’re not always dealing with music though. As an employee of Repeater Records (which I’m convinced is a reference to Fugazi’s legendary debut album since the devs seem to love punk-based music), you’re also tasked with organizing bulletin boards in the staff room or even designing show fliers for local bands. You can also use the store’s jukebox to play tunes both by bands in Wax Heads‘ world like indie rockers Girl Junk and from our world like the theme song to indie eyesore (complimentary) shooter Post Void.
There’s no wrong way to do up a show flier
You also catch up with your fellow employees from time to time, spreading the latest gossip or hearing about goings-on around town whether it’s a new show coming up or how the store owner’s estranged sister whose music career is far from over is in town. The personalities are relatable. You have the gay activist who makes DIY zines, the hustler who spends her time on the clock being a would-be agent for her friends’ band (allegedly), and the burly and anxious dude who fronts a punk band called Da Knees. Learning more about them is genuinely cool even if dialogue options and paths are pretty limiting.
Really though, the focus is on the customers for the most part. Meeting everyone and trying to decode what they need (even if it’s not what they claim to want) is fun and challenging. I played on the demo’s “no refunds” mode which means my decisions were locked in once made, no take-backs, no do-overs, but the option is there for a more guilt-free and less stressful experience. It didn’t take long to feel the drive to explore the whole store to help one customer, navigating the rows of records around customers poring over the backs of records with laser precision, or coasting close to the kids in line to play the Diggy Doggo arcade cabinet in the corner of the place.
Kid B would love SmashPad
As someone that prides himself on being able to recommend new, cool music to my pals and being good at it, Wax Heads just hits all the right buttons. It’s also surprisingly emotional with one customer interaction in particular – an ashen-haired widower looking to reconnect with music he and his late husband listened to early on in their relationship – making my lips curl up and eyes water with how sweet it was. It’s apparent from this two-hour demo that people and community are the most important aspects of this game, and music is the medium that connects us all to each other in seen and unseen ways.
As stated before, Wax Heads has a new demo out right now on Steam so you too can dive on in, click around, and be engrossed in its empathetic world made for music heads or just anyone with a heart. The full game is out real soon on May 4, 2026 for Steam on PC, Switch, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.
by David Rodriguez
