Wailing Heights
- April 27, 2016
- Outsider Games
A hallmark of excellence. There may be flaws, but they are negligible and won't cause massive damage.
Get on SteamWailing Heights is a musical adventure game centered in a village of monsters, where you play as Frances Finklestein, the former manager of a famous rock band. After being trapped and charged for being alive, you gain the power of possession, allowing you to jump between ghost, vampire, werewolf, and zombie forms to escape the town. The game features vegan werewolves, hipster vampires, and other quirky supernatural beings.
Mac OS
PC
Playstation 4
Windows
Xbox One
Linux
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- The game features stunning artwork and a unique comic book style that enhances the overall experience.
- The music is catchy and well-integrated into the gameplay, with a variety of enjoyable tracks that fit the theme.
- The character designs and humorous dialogue create a charming atmosphere that appeals to fans of quirky adventure games.
- The gameplay can feel tedious due to the character-switching mechanic, which is accompanied by long, unskippable animations.
- There are numerous technical issues, including bugs and clunky controls, which can disrupt the flow of the game.
- Some puzzles are overly obscure or frustrating, leading to moments where players may feel stuck or confused about how to progress.
- music114 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread praise for its catchy tunes and quality, with many players enjoying the unique integration of songs into gameplay mechanics. However, some users noted that the repetitive character-switching music can become tedious, especially since it is unskippable. Overall, while the soundtrack is a highlight and enhances the game's charm, the sound design could benefit from better volume balancing and options for player control.
“The character designs are fun, the music is top-notch (I have many of them playing on repeat in my head haha) and it's so fun to see how interconnected a lot of the characters are in the town.”
“A charming spooky town full of monsters, humor, and quality music that sets the stage for a fun game.”
“The music is amazing and fits the theme perfectly.”
“There is a little mini song every single time you switch characters, and while there is a different one for each character, they just get super annoying after a while, with no way to disable or interrupt them.”
“The gameplay takes a good deal of patience, as the controls aren't the smoothest and the musical transitions between characters are long and unskippable.”
“But the same music playing over and over did get quite tedious after a while.”
- story42 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally praised for its engaging and original narrative, complemented by humorous dialogues and a unique musical theme. However, some players find the character development and plot progression lacking, with tedious gameplay mechanics that detract from the overall experience. While the art style and soundtrack receive acclaim, the story's execution can feel uneven, with certain elements not fully explored or integrated into the gameplay.
“The story is engaging and original.”
“Wailing Heights is a musical adventure game with lovely comic book art style, impressive voice acting, and engaging story.”
“Lots of catchy tunes and an endearing storyline that will keep you hooked from the start.”
“Shuffling bodies around to progress a plot that squanders the world-building makes it hard to enjoy the songs and art design, and since they are pretty steeped in the context of the game, you have to push through a lot of bothersome mechanics and puzzle design to try and appreciate them.”
“Even by most point-and-click standards, the puzzles here were really obtuse, and overall the story and the characters were all pretty dumb and lackluster.”
“The storyline won't progress unless you trigger specific events, which don't always seem crucial to the story.”
- gameplay41 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a mixed bag, featuring unique mechanics like character-swapping and possession that offer interesting puzzles but can become tedious and clunky over time. While the art and music are praised, many players find the controls frustrating and the gameplay repetitive, with some sections lacking clear direction. Overall, the innovative ideas are overshadowed by execution issues, making it a challenging experience for those who prioritize smooth gameplay.
“The possession mechanic is new and interesting, and encourages a playstyle that's different from any other point-and-click game I've played before.”
“Interesting gameplay concept, enjoyable moderate difficulty puzzles.”
“Gameplay is what you would expect from a point-and-click adventure, but there's a twist: you have to swap between different characters—with different supernatural abilities—to get the items needed to progress through the game.”
“However, the control scheme is sort of atrocious on a laptop/PC, and the character-swapping mechanic has overly long animations and jingles that play every time you do it.”
“Gameplay is minimal — find something this character hates or loves, ask, 'Hey, do you love this? Do you hate that?' Okay, thanks, nice puzzle — and the story and characters are not half as interesting as the setting might suggest.”
“As for the rest of the gameplay, it's tolerable, but there were a number of sections in the second act where there was no clue as to what to do next, and it took forever, eventually consulting a walkthrough to get out of the dead ends I found myself in, with no clear-cut signposting at all.”
- graphics41 mentions
- 73 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming, colorful, and comic book-inspired art style, which enhances the overall experience and complements the game's humor and narrative. However, some players have reported significant glitches, such as pixelation and character animation issues, which detract from the gameplay. Overall, while the visuals are a highlight, technical problems may hinder the experience for some players.
“The visuals are charming and lovingly done, as is the sound and the music.”
“First you get caught by the game’s groovy cartoonish visuals that make NPCs look like comic-book cut-outs on the softer, more subdued backgrounds and wonderfully play into the overall funky game style.”
“The artwork is stunning and bursting with style.”
“I came across a lot of pixelated artwork and text, and the speech bubbles ran off screen a few times.”
“Like a B-horror flick, this game is full of bugs, missing odd pieces of voiced dialogue, limited voice actors and subpar recording, goofy glitchy visuals, and some corny music.”
“I would love to see an option to lower some graphic-intensive addons, seeing as my laptop drudged along through the beginning portion, but instead of going for a refund, I let it go.”
- humor13 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised for its funny dialogue, quirky storytelling, and clever puns, contributing to an overall enjoyable experience. While not consistently laugh-out-loud funny, the humor is well-integrated with the game's artistic style and music, enhancing the gameplay. However, some players noted that technical issues can detract from the comedic experience.
“The humor is great, the achievements are fairly easy, and it's short enough that the cons don't outweigh the pros.”
“Funny story & punny dialogues *thumbs up*”
“It's very funny, has great artwork and style, and some catchy songs.”
- stability8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is criticized for being quite buggy, with numerous glitches and broken dialogues that detract from the overall polish. While some players report that these issues do not significantly disrupt gameplay, many express a desire for future patches to address the problems.
“It's a buggy mess; there are dialogues that are completely broken and don't work.”
“Unfortunately, it is buggy as all get out.”
“As of right now, it's much too buggy.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and exhausting, with repetitive character switching, obscure puzzles, and monotonous gameplay contributing to a sense of boredom. While the art direction is praised, the lack of variety in music and controls further detracts from the overall experience. Despite these issues, many still enjoy the story and are willing to overlook the grind for the sake of the narrative.
“But it's so unbelievably obtuse and tedious; it's kind of exhausting to play.”
“The gameplay is quite a bit boring and tedious after a while, but the whole thing is saved by a very nice and original art direction.”
“But the same music playing over and over did get quite tedious after a while.”
- atmosphere3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, with users noting its intuitive progression and the impactful voicing and music that enhance the experience. The classic Scooby-Doo inspiration contributes to a vibrant and engaging ambiance, making it an overall atmospheric title.
“Overall, very atmospheric.”
“The voicing and music bring all the life and atmosphere of this title.”
“Classic Scooby-Doo inspired atmosphere.”
- character development2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development is highlighted by engaging designs and strong interconnections among the characters within the town, complemented by excellent music and voice work. However, some reviewers feel that the overall game design detracts from the otherwise vibrant character interactions.
“The character designs are fun, the music is top-notch (I have many of them playing on repeat in my head haha), and it's so fun to see how interconnected a lot of the characters are in the town.”
“Excellent character design, sound, voice, and music.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Many users feel that the game is somewhat short and lacks significant replayability, suggesting that once completed, there isn't much incentive to play again.
“Felt a tad short and there's not that much replayability.”
“Once you finish the game, there's little incentive to go back and play it again.”
“The lack of varied outcomes makes replaying the game feel redundant.”
