Black is so out, everyone. No no, ignore my all-black wardrobe, bedding, and you better leave my black cat alone. Black is still my go-to colour, but the hottest shade of the year to jazz up your gaming rig is pink. At least, that's what I keep telling all my friends. They would probably like me to stop gushing about my love for all my rosy peripherals.
Ever since Razer dropped its Quartz collection in 2018, I've been obsessed. The de facto gamer accessory manufacturer was letting us know that you didn't have to cloak your entire setup in darkness, only visible by its red trim or neon green lighting. Of course, it's no bad thing if that's what you want, but I've always craved something a little different for my PC. Since then, I've quietly been scooping up bits of its range—the Kitty Kraken, Huntsman, and Basilisk have been mainstays in my setup for two years.
I turned up to my very first PC Gamer meeting in all my pink cat-eared glory, and it turned out to be a great icebreaker. So when hardware lead Dave offered to let me run wild with Razer's latest collection to receive a pink coat of paint, I knew I wouldn't be able to shut up about it.
This time, Razer has six new products for us pink-loving gamers to throw across our desk. Well, I say new—almost all of these have been out in their black variety for at least a few months. I got my hands on the quartz versions of the Razer Orochi mouse, Barracuda wireless headset, Blackshark V2 X, Strider mouse mat, and the Huntsman V2 TKL keyboard. There's also the one I'm most excited about, the Kitty Kraken V2, but that product hasn't quite reached my grubby little hands yet. My dream of twinning with my Viera in Final Fantasy 14 with its bunny ear attachment isn't quite yet realised, but hopefully soon.
There's something about pink peripherals that makes me so utterly, irritatingly gleeful. Putting on my silly pink headphones, typing on my silly pink keyboard, wiggling my silly pink mouse across my silly pink mouse pad. God dammit, I love it. I look at my black monitors, my black microphone, and my black PC case. I resist the urge to take a spray can to their void-like exteriors. I am Mick Jagger if he was super into, like, Hello Kitty or something.
Think pink
The Huntsman V2 is my first experience with a TKL keyboard and my first time experiencing double-shot PBT keycaps. The keys are a little heavier than what I've become used to with my OG Huntsman and as a long-nailed gal, I sometimes feel the strain of typing over long periods. But man, those PBT keycaps feel damn nice on your fingertips. The included bright pink wrist rest has also made me realise how badly I was in need of one and has drastically improved my typing experience.
I've found the Blackshark V2 X a tad small for my ears, preferring the large all-encompassing cups of my slowly dying Kitty Kraken. The Barracuda headset, on the other hand, has made it so I can be insufferable at my desk and on the go. I've been taking them to the gym while I lift so I can look adorable and block out the incredibly annoying gym classes while trying to look like I'm totally fine deadlifting this weight, actually. It's got that lowkey look that means I don't feel like a total doofus wearing them in public, but those who know, know. You know?
There's something about pink peripherals that makes me so utterly, irritatingly gleeful.
I've been using the Orochi mouse for general browsing and to accompany my laptop when I'm working on the go. It weighs bloody nothing! The mouse pad has also, somewhat sadly, temporarily replaced my giant Final Fantasy 14 one. Anything for the aesthetic. It must all be pink… all of it.
Look, I'm being kind of daft, and my friends definitely do wish I would shut up about all my pink shit. But it's kind of cool seeing such a variety of peripherals now. Something as simple as colours can go a long way to making gaming feel like a more fun, inclusive space. Games are expression, an extension of those who create them and the audience who engages with them. Why shouldn't that expression extend to our setups?
