Wailing Heights

63%
Game Brain Score Based on 83 reviews
  • music
  • story
  • gameplay
Wailing Heights Game Cover
A hallmark of excellence. There may be flaws, but they are negligible and won't cause massive damage.
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Wailing 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
  • Play​station 4
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Linux
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

63%
Audience ScoreBased on 83 reviews
music31 positive mentions
stability7 negative mentions
  • The art style is unique and visually appealing, reminiscent of comic book aesthetics.
  • The music is catchy and well-integrated into the gameplay, enhancing the overall experience.
  • The game features humorous dialogue and quirky characters that add charm to the narrative.
  • The gameplay is clunky and often frustrating, with issues like slow character switching and imprecise hit-boxes.
  • There are numerous bugs and technical issues that can disrupt the experience, including getting stuck in the environment.
  • The puzzles can be overly simplistic or obtuse, leading to moments of confusion and frustration.
  • music91 mentions

    The music in the game is generally praised for its catchiness and unique integration into gameplay, serving as a central mechanic where players collect lyrics to cast spells and switch characters. However, some players find the repetitive character theme songs annoying, especially since they cannot be skipped, which detracts from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, the soundtrack is noted for its quality and creativity, contributing significantly to the game's charm and atmosphere.

    • “The music is very catchy.”
    • “The characters are quirky and fun, the art style is fitting and interesting to look at, and the music is tight - support your indie developers today!”
    • “Music-centered point’n’click that might be a bit uneven at times but wins you over with its uniqueness and deep love for the world of music.”
    • “There is a little mini song every single time you switch characters; there is a different one for each character, but after a while, they just get super annoying, and there is no way to disable them or interrupt them.”
    • “The controls are worse than clunky, and while the music is charming the first few times you hear it, having to hear the entire possession tune every single time you swap between characters pushed me straight over the edge.”
    • “But the same music playing over and over did get quite tedious after a while.”
  • story34 mentions

    The game's story is a mixed bag, with some players praising its engaging and original narrative, humorous dialogues, and unique mechanics like soul possession, while others find it lackluster and frustrating due to clunky gameplay and obtuse puzzles. The art style and soundtrack receive positive mentions, enhancing the overall experience, but some players feel the story could have been more cohesive and better integrated with gameplay. Overall, it appeals to those who appreciate quirky storytelling and musical elements, despite its shortcomings.

    • “The story is engaging and original.”
    • “Amazing artwork, great music and unique story.”
    • “Lots of catchy tunes and an endearing storyline that will keep you hooked from the start.”
    • “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.”
    • “The whole story of the game seemed kind of campy, much like a Scooby-Doo cartoon, but it redeems itself with interesting gameplay, narratives, and amusing characters.”
  • gameplay33 mentions

    The gameplay features a mix of unique mechanics, such as soul possession and character swapping, which provide an interesting twist on traditional point-and-click adventure elements. However, many players find the execution clunky and repetitive, leading to frustration during puzzle-solving and navigation. While the art and music enhance the experience, the overall gameplay can feel tedious and lacks clear direction at times.

    • “Unique and enjoyable puzzle design and game mechanics.”
    • “Interesting gameplay concept, enjoyable moderate difficulty puzzles.”
    • “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.”
    • “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.”
    • “The art and the music is great, but the graphics are super glitchy and the gameplay unbearably clunky.”
    • “As for the rest of gameplay, ehhhhhh, 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 and eventually consulting a walkthrough to get out of the dead-ends I found myself in, with no clear-cut signposting at all.”
  • graphics30 mentions

    The graphics of the game are characterized by a vibrant and unique art style that many players find appealing, often described as colorful and reminiscent of comic book visuals. However, several reviews highlight significant issues with glitches, pixelation, and clunky gameplay that detract from the overall experience. While the artwork and animations are praised for their creativity and charm, technical problems such as missing voiceovers and character glitches are noted as frustrating drawbacks.

    • “A fun little adventure puzzle game with an interesting setting and some nice vibrant graphics.”
    • “First you get caught by the game’s groovy cartoonish visuals that make NPCs look like comic-book cutouts 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.”
    • “First you get caught by the game’s groovy cartoonish visuals that make NPCs look like comic-book cutouts on the softer, more subdued backgrounds, which wonderfully play into the overall funky game style.”
  • humor11 mentions

    The humor in the game is generally well-received, featuring funny dialogues, punny exchanges, and humorous music-related jokes that enhance the experience. While the writing may not be award-winning, it effectively contributes to the game's quirky charm, making it enjoyable for fans of point-and-click adventures. However, some players noted that technical bugs can detract from the overall comedic immersion.

    • “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.”
  • stability7 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, the consensus is that the game requires further updates to address these stability concerns.

    • “Unfortunately, it is buggy as all get out.”
    • “As of right now, it's much too buggy.”
    • “There are glitches, but none that ruined the gameplay.”
  • grinding4 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and exhausting, often leading to boredom despite the appealing art direction and engaging story. Repetitive gameplay and music contribute to the overall sense of monotony, making the experience feel laborious at times.

    • “But it's so unbelievably obtuse and tedious that it's kind of exhausting to play.”
    • “The gameplay is quite 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.”
  • character development1 mentions

    While the character design, sound, voice acting, and music are praised for their excellence, the overall character development is undermined by a lackluster game design that fails to fully engage players.

  • replayability1 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 complete the game, there's little incentive to play it again.”
    • “The lack of varied endings makes replaying the game feel redundant.”
  • atmosphere1 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, with users highlighting the effective use of voicing and music that enriches the overall experience and brings the game to life, despite a few intuitive progression exceptions.

    • “The voicing and music bring all the life and atmosphere of this title.”
    • “The atmosphere is incredibly immersive, making you feel like you're truly part of the world.”
    • “Every sound and visual detail contributes to a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere that stays with you long after playing.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

90% average critic score

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