Whether it’s a fetching PC case that comes in purple, or a gaming mouse with more buttons than you can shake a thumb at (plus Stream Deck integration), I appreciate a bit of kit that breaks the mould. No, head-turning hardware isn’t always revolutionising the wheel, but aesthetics do still count for a lot.
For instance, you may want to make your desk a shrine to the retro gaming tech of your youth. I’m not going to name any particular consoles made by a certain playing card and videogame company for fear of dating the oldheads, but the 8BitDo Retro R8 has the aesthetic down. Even better, it comes with a charging dock and altogether costs just under $32 from Amazon.
As someone with a perpetually messy home office, I tend to take a dim view of charging docks as I’d rather not invite more clutter onto my desk. Our James didn’t feel exactly the same to begin with, but the 8BitDo Retro R8 apparently went some ways to affirming his love of charging docks. For a gaming mouse, it’s certainly not hard to see the argument for one.
But it’s not just a place to pop your mouse when it’s not in use. Besides charging, the dock can also act like a wireless receiver. Add to that the 8BitDo Retro R8 enjoys an up to 100-hour battery life in Bluetooth mode, and fumbling for the charging cable because your squeakers run out of juice quickly becomes a thing of the past.
It’s worth noting that, yes, that impressive battery life is whittled down considerably over a 2.4 GHz connection. According to James’ 8BitDo Retro R8 review, this can vary between 26 to 105 depending on what polling rate you’re using. That’s also a point—this affordable gaming mouse can enjoy an up to 8,000 Hz polling rate. That’s only over a wired connection, though, mind. Still, you can get up to 4,000 Hz over a wireless connection, which will be more than enough for most!
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The onboard PAW 3395 optical sensor offers a maximum DPI of 26,000 on top. In all, this is a responsive gaming mouse for not very money.
As James writes, “Snappy twitchy shooters like Counter-Strike 2 are as, well, snappy and twitchy as you’d like them to be. I never feel any resistance whipping around maps, attempting to hit heads and hitting the wall behind them (don’t worry, that’s normal for me). Connection has been perfect in testing, never cutting out when connected to the stand. It’s not quite a competitive mouse in those specs (and feel), but it is comfortable and easy to use.”
Lastly, though I’m right-handed, I do appreciate that this gaming mouse is ambidextrous. From the curves, to the extra programmable buttons along the side, it’s all symmetrical. And weighing only 77 g, it’ll likely feel good in whichever hand you place it.
Best gaming mouse 2026
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