A Love letter to the Razer DeathAdder V2: This Serpents Still Got It.

Our Review

Back in the olden days (2006), Bethesda Studios published The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, arguably the best open-world action role-playing game at the time. The story focuses on your efforts to prevent a demonic invasion, (“wtf has this got to do with a Mouse?” you ask – Hang tight I’ll get there…) At the beginning of the game, you are a lowly prisoner stuck in a dank and bleak cell. After a daring escape and foray through the obligatory sewer system, you reach the light at the end of the tunnel (literally) and burst out into the world of Cyrodiil.

Your eyes are treated to lush green landscape stretching into the distance, a docked boat waiting invitingly by a jetty, ancient ruins begging to be explored on the opposite bank, rolling forest covered hills with cold majestic mountains in the distance. The wave of excitement and wonder that hit me when I first stepped forward into this massive open world to carve out my story and adventure was one of the best gaming moments of my life, and my trusty partner on this adventure? The Razer DeathAdder, my silent friend, praying not to be crushed by my expectant and tense palm.

Skip forward several pounds, children, dead-end jobs, and lost hair follicles to 2023, and my favourite escapist hobby of PC gaming remains, and yes, so does my trusted (albeit upgraded) partner: The Razer DeathAdder V2. Only this time we are eliminating terrorists in CS:GO, defeating giant demon ladies in Diablo 4, and crushing our opponents in League of Legends.

Sure, there have been some improvements between the 2006 DeathAdder to my current 2020 V2 Model, not least of which in the DPI sensitivity, onboard memory, and cable quality, but these things are a side dish, i.e. nice to have, but not the real meat (or meat substitute for my vegan friends).

The DeathAdders standout feature was, and still is, the near perfect ambidextrous design. That super comfortable “hand-feel” that after many hours of gaming leaves you feeling like, well, your good for many more hours of gaming…

What’s more, the design can suit all three grip styles – be that claw, palm or fingertips, although if you have tiny hands you may not appreciate the DeathAdder as much as I do.

When you couple this amazing design with robust engineering (the fact that various incarnations of this mouse have been banged about in my backpacks and taken to conventions, work events, friends’ homes over the years, and then just plugged into the USB port and work), it truly is an masterpiece in a world of wanna-be’s.

So many tech products these days are flimsy lightweights whose design epitomises “planned obsolescence”. Not so the DeathAdder V2, in the distant future, I am sure my great grandchildren could plug my old friend into the museum desktop and have a wonderfully nostalgic time.

Sometimes you want a product that just works. The DeathAdder V2 has everything you need to play a multitude of games. Pick your acronym – it works amazingly with: FPS’s; MOBA’s; or RPG’s, the 20k Sensor is a marvel, whether you need fast and accurate placement of troops across terrain, or your attempting a headshot whilst jumping out of a moving aircraft.
The DeathAdder will be there for you at the end of an exhausting or shitty day, it doesn’t need you to listen to it moan about the cost of living crisis, or massage it’s feet. The DeathAdder purely lives to entertain you, and it does this without connection issues, bits falling off, or the dreaded flash of a “low battery” light. You don’t have to fiddle with tiny weights and a thousand different “settings”, just plug it in and have a great time. I promise you the V2 DeathAdder won’t let you down.