Gaming hardware has been making leaps and bounds over the past few years, for a while there, almost every mouse had to be wireless, but then the trend changed, and we went back to corded. There was also a period where a mouse needed to have more buttons than we have fingers, but the trend has reversed and we are back to a normal amount, so how can a mouse that looks as plain as day, compete, find out.

In the past I have not reviewed a lot of mice, because they are mice and honestly how much can you really say about them, but I have started to think more, prior to getting the Rival 3, about what makes a good mouse and when the Rival 3 did show up, I decided to put my thoughts to the test. There are two critical parts to any mouse, form and function, basically how it looks and feels, combined with how it works, if one area fails, the mouse as a whole fails, it is pretty straight forward, there is no point having a mouse that looks amazing, but only has the ability to light up. The Rival 3 thankfully, manages to meet both of those aspects, with relative ease and even with significant use, there was only really one thing I wanted changed on it, but enough about that, let us get into it.

Form, the shape of something is crucial to anything we use with a computer, but a mouse it is perhaps just slightly more than function, the Rival 3 has a solid form. Taking the mouse out of the box, I initially thought it was uniform and would work with either my right or left hand, but the left side of the mouse has a slightly more visible bulge, which allows for the thumb to rest against. Notice I did say rest on, that is because the mouse does not contain a lip and whilst some people might be turned away by that, the lack of it actually improves the use, as you can now use your thumb to guide the mouse where you want it to be. Located on the left side are the now standard back and forth buttons and unlike a lot of mice, these are about the same size, which removes the frustration of trying to hit the right button, cause one is smaller than the other.

On top of the mouse are the rest of the buttons and scroll wheel, due to the mouse being for right-handed gamers, if you use your left hand on it, it does feel slightly out of balance, but that is not the mouses problem. The case is a matte black finish, with the only colours coming from the SteelSeries logo on the front and the lighting strip that runs around its base. When the lights are off, the strip becomes almost invisible to the eye, but the SteelSeries logo is a nice bright white colour, and thankfully does not sit out from the rest of the mouse. The underside has three glide pads, a long way at the bottom of the mouse and two smaller ones at the top, the issue with them, within a few days of use, they were showing a lot of scratches, so I would be concerned at how long they last, before they start to lose their slide.

Now we have discussed form, but what about function, there is little point in worrying about how good a mouse looks, if it can’t actually function as one and thankfully, SteelSeries have developed something extraordinary here. The left and right mouse buttons click and by that I don’t mean that they just make the noise, but they actually have a proper click to them, to the point where you can use the very backs of the buttons and they still function. This is possible as they have taken the same tech that they use in their higher end mice and inserted into this, now they claim 60 million clicks, something I can’t test on my own, but given how firm and responsive they are, it is something I can believe. Between the buttons is the standard scroll wheel, there is not much I can say about that, it is a wheel and it scrolls, it has a soft rubber top, which makes gripping it very easy and something I really liked, was that the wheel had a proper clunk, when you scrolled it, making sure you knew it had clicked over. Below the wheel and between the bottom of the two buttons is the CPI switching button, which lets you adjust the dpi of the mouse on the fly, it is the button with the highest position on the mouse, but thanks to its actual position, you won’t bump it in error. The lighting on the mouse is simple to set up and with multiple levels of brightness, allows for a proper level of customisation, something that helps when paired with a keyboard that also lights up, like the Apex 5.

Sadly, though at this point we must talk about the problem with the mouse and it is one that can’t be fixed easily and that is the weight. SteelSeries themselves pride the current 77g a selling point of the mouse and I can see why, a lightweight mouse sounds appealing, the problem is, it isn’t. The lack of weight detracts from the sense of usefulness that the mouse should be providing, regardless of how well it provides that function. I know the price is quite low, which is amazing as it is one of the most affordable mice around, but it needs to be heavier, I am not asking for the weight to be to much more, but when I hold the mouse in my hands, it feels hollow, like there is nothing inside of it at all. Thankfully though, that is the only real issue I had with the mouse, the weight might also not be an issue for other folks, which is of course fine.

If you are someone who is serious about gaming, at any level, SteelSeries have other mice I would suggest you look towards, but if you are starting out or are working with a limited budget, this is easily a mouse I can point you at. It offers the same features as most other mice on the market, whilst also having a simple form factor that should fit almost all hands, the only thing you need to be wary of, is the weight of the mouse.

Mouse provided for review by SteelSeries