Razer has finally begun sharing its growing collection of Pokémon-themed peripherals with markets outside of SEA, to the delight and financial dismay of those of us unable to resist unnecessarily buying things that are adorably nostalgic. After having just dropped a Kanto-themed Razer x Pokémon collection in global regions, the company has dipped into its catalogue to re-launch a winning item for a wider audience – the Kraken Kitty V2 – Gengar Edition, which I’ve had the pleasure of road testing for a couple of weeks.
The most obviously striking thing about this headset is, well, how it looks. Choosing Gengar as the subject for a Pokémon reinterpretation of the iconic Kraken Kitty V2 headset is a thoughtful move – the Kraken Kitty has long been a bastion of feminine play, and the Gengar girlies are out there in force. It also makes for a very striking headset with a unique silhouette thanks to the inclusion of not just Gengar’s ears but the familiar spikes on his head. Is it fur? What is Gengar made of? Can something just be made of “ghost?”
These are not questions that this Razer headset answers. Instead, the decorations on top are hard, rubber moulds affixed permanently to the band. They’re not the only fun detail, though. The whole thing comes in a unique colourway of a few different shades of purple, and then red fabric covers on the inside of the earcups with their own wonderful print featuring an outline of Gengar. On the outside of the cups, a purple print with a Gengar cutout, which the headset’s Chroma RGB lighting shines through. It all looks fantastic, any fan of the rotund ghoul would find it hard not to want to wear this thing.
The familiar comfort of the Kitty V2 is in full effect here too, making the Gengar Edition just as nice to wear for even the most marathon gaming sesh. The big, soft earcups feel great and continue to offer pretty decent passive noise isolation. I was worried the added spikes on the very top of the band would restrict its flexibility but they’re made of pliable enough rubber that it’s totally fine.
Putting aside the bold aesthetic, this is a traditional Kraken Kitty V2 on the inside, meaning it’s a decent but not particularly exciting USB gaming headset, with good but not great sound and few frills. For what I gather will be this device’s biggest audience – younger players and diehard Gengy fans – that’ll be just fine, but there’ll be plenty of other headsets that outperform this, including other members of the Kraken Kitty family.
40mm Triforce drivers give these cans a punchy sound that’s not especially nuanced but offers a lot of heft to games with big set pieces and cinematic moments. I’m still working on my PC game library, but I tried out a mix of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, DOOM: The Dark Ages, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Fortnite and all came out sounding pretty great. Using the Kraken Kitty V2 on a Windows PC means getting the full 7.1 surround solution, and the positional audio proved super effective when sneaking up on Nazis as Indy or trying not to get merc’d by children in Canyon Crossing.
The microphone on the Kraken Kitty V2 – Gengar Edition is a pretty standard Razer HyperClear cardioid mic. It’s just fine, coming through with enough clarity to be useful for in-game chat or Discord calls, but not something you’d want to produce recorded content with – which makes the inability to remove it a bit of a bugbear. The neck is very flexible, so it’ll never really be in your way, but I wish I could just put it in a drawer somewhere and forget about it.
Unfortunately for console and mobile users, this is also a strictly wired headset, and plugs in with the ubiquitous but ageing USB-A connector. With a cable to worry about, and only stereo support on anything outside of PC, I’d probably not recommend picking these up for the console-exclusive gamer in your life. Of course, this also means there’s no need to worry about keeping the headset charged or losing a wireless adapter, which is a boon.
If you are using this one on a PC, you’ll have the benefit of Razer’s excellent Synapse software, although the actual options are fairly slim for the USB-based Kitty V2. You’re able to mess around with the lighting effects and enable mic monitoring, but not a whole lot else. If you’re hoping to change up any EQ settings, you’re on your own to figure that out externally to Razer’s app.
Final Thoughts
Gaming headset aesthetics are an interesting subject, given their value hinges entirely on the user’s capacity and desire to be perceived. This Gengar-themed headset looks great, and I enjoy looking at it, but with this review out of the way I’ll probably be doing that while wearing and using a far superior gaming headset. So I probably shouldn’t and wouldn’t be someone who spends $240 on it. But if you’re a streamer, the parent of a younger, Pokémon-obsessed gamer, or just a proud Gengar girlie – and you’re okay with the price – it’s a bloody delightful gimmick.
Review hardware supplied by manufacturer
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