It’s been a while since I first posted about Wailing Heights, a macabre musical adventure game from Outsider Games. Since their reveal announcement back in September the team has moved into the Top 30 on Steam Greenlight. To celebrate the game’s ongoing coverage and positive reaction they’ve released a new trailer featuring the 60’s stylings of The Deadbeats.
The Deadbeats are the world renowned band that Frances Finklestein to manage back when he had a body. In the land of Wailing Heights he finds himself doing the “body-hop” to jump from hipster vampire to Motown zombie, all in the search for a way to reunite with his body.
I don’t normally go for point and click adventure games but Wailing Heights is combining a lot of stuff I like. Graphic novel styled artwork, a monster village filled with vegan werewolves and hipster vampires, and the promise of a musical adventure in both gameplay and story.
You wake up in Wailing Heights’ prison as Frances Finklestein, former manager of the greatest 60’s rock band, and have to find a way to escape this purgatory. You’re quickly introduced to the “body-hop”, a musical mechanic that lets you jump between characters and escape your cell, but you still have to find a way to free your own body. Given that this is an adventure game it’s not going to be as easy as simply finding a key.
Exploring the Heights, interacting with characters and “borrowing” their unique abilities, you’ll explore a story created by Kevin Beimers (Hector: Badge of Carnage, Schrodinger’s Cat) realized through that gorgeous comic art style. But the music, critical as it is to the experience, is still a bit of a mystery. You can get an idea of the vibe they’re going for in the announcement trailer above but exactly how it all figures into the gameplay is still a secret. It sounds great, though, and very much a unique soundtrack for an adventure game if it holds to this style.
Hopefully much more will be seen (and heard) from Wailing Heights at the upcoming EGX show in the UK where Outsider Games will be showing it off for the first time.
Covering and promoting discussion of composers and music with a focus on video games and other contemporary media entertainment