Competitive gaming in general has been growing exponentially in the last few years, little by little more and more professional gamers appear and make tournaments more fun to watch and enjoy, with this in mind, the need to improve the odds in your favor also increases dramatically. To ensure that their products are up to snuff, more and more companies are starting to work in collaboration with professional gamers in order to take their advice into consideration when designing and manufacturing new peripherals, such is (probably) the case with the mouse we have for review today, the SteelSeries Rival.
Taking a quick look at the very stylish and elegant package in which the Rival comes tucked in you really cannot make a mistake when guessing the company responsible for it, SteelSeries has once again delivered us a product that is more than just a gaming peripheral, it is a whole new experience that still feels very familiar at the same time.
If you have ever bought a gaming mouse from SteelSeries before you pretty much know what to expect, lots of information on the box itself and the traditional orange and black color scheme that seems to suit all of their products. Aside from that you also get a window on the front of the package that allows you to see and test out the way the Rival feels in your hand.
Much like the streamlined design of the Rival, the content bundled with it is basic to say the least, there's no fancy weight system and no extra "skates" here, only the mouse itself matters, at least that seems to be the message from SteelSeries. The only extra included is an interchangeable nameplate bearing the SteelSeries logo and name, while it's an interesting concept I would rather see a pair of extra feet included, but maybe that's just me.
Moving on to the mouse itself you will surely notice how simple it is in terms of design, it almost feels like a throwback to the Microsoft 1.0/1.1/3.0 days, it is clear that getting back to the basics while at the same time improving on the formula was SteelSeries number one objective, thankfully they seem to have hit their mark.
A word of warning, if you're left-handed you might want to look somewhere else, unlike SteelSeries' previous efforts with the Sensei, the Rival is designed with right-handed people in mind.
There's virtually not a single plastic surface on the Rival that isn't rubberized or extremely soft to the touch, in particular the grips on each side of the mouse feel very solid, durable and give a more responsive feel to your gaming experience as a whole. The SteelSeries engineered switches (up to 30 million clicks) give a clear and tactile response with each click, this further contributes to the aforementioned "experience".
Of course that any mouse will only be as good as its sensor, thankfully in this regard the Rival is probably one of the best options currently on the market, its Pixart PMW3310 optical sensor feels extremely precise and hardware-acceleration-free. While I'm not a pro gamer of any sort I still felt like the quality of my gaming in general improved while using the SteelSeries Rival.
Finally let's talk about the build quality, once again nothing too fancy here, just simple and sturdy construction that promises to last a very long time if you take good care of it, no part of the mouse feels loose or flimsy at all.
Being supported by SteelSeries Engine 3 is another good feature about the Rival, by using the Engine 3 you can pretty much configure the mouse just the way you like it, from the color of the back light to the function of each of the six programmable buttons everything is easy to access and change if you so desire.
Final Thoughts
The SteelSeries Rival starts off on the right foot thanks to one "über" precise and at the same time versatile optical sensor (50-6500 dpi), the fact that its elegantly designed and extremely comfortable only makes it an even better choice for any competitive gamer out there.
The 59.99€ price tag is a relatively attractive number when you compare it to other options on the market, even when taking the lack of extra accessories into consideration few in this price range can compete with the SteelSeries Rival.
The Good
+Precise optical sensor
+Elegant
+Comfortable
+Six programmable buttons
+Uses the SteelSeries Engine 3
+Build quality
+Satisfying clicks
+Price
The Bad
-Lack of extras
-No weight tuning system
-Can be a bit too simple for some gamers
Thanks to SteelSeries for providing the review sample
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