Popular gaming hardware manufacturer Razer has announced a batch of new products at its annual RazerCon event.
The headlining products are the Razer Kraken V4 Pro and the Razer Freyja. The former is a seriously premium addition to the brand’s gaming headset lineup, while the latter is described as “the world’s first HD haptic gaming cushion.”
That right, it’s a vibrating seat cushion for your gaming chair.
The Kraken V4 Pro joins the headset’s fourth-generation lineup alongside the standard Kraken V4 and the wired Kraken V4 X which Razer revealed last month. The Pro model looks like quite the step up in terms of features (and price, but we’ll get to that). Razer’s bespoke Sensa HD haptics are included here, causing the headset to react to in-game activities with directional haptic feedback.
A handful of games will directly support the technology, including Final Fantasy 16, Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, and Silent Hill 2. I got to test the haptics for myself at a Razer briefing last week and they definitely felt like an improvement over the Razer Kaira Pro’s HyperSense feedback, feeling much more nuanced and, well, less like you had a bee in your headset.
The Kraken V4 Pro also includes a PC-compatible OLED Control Hub that allows for on-the-fly tweaks to your settings as well as the monitoring of volume, battery life and other metrics. You’re getting customizable Chroma RGB on the ear cups, dual audio support and instant switching between 2.4GHz and Bluetooth (handy if you need to take a quick call while gaming), 40mm drivers supported by THX spatial audio and a retractable mic.
The Razer Kraken V4 Pro is available to buy now from Razer’s website and other retailers, but it doesn’t come cheap. Expect to pay $399.99 / £399.99 which is a pretty giant step up from other models in the Kraken V4 lineup. Still, it’s in with a chance of landing in our list of the best PC gaming headsets with its stacked feature set and intelligent Sensa HD haptics.
(Image credit: Razer)
The other major reveal from this year’s RazerCon is the all-new Razer Freyja. This is a seat cushion that’ll fit any of the best gaming chairs that, much like the Kraken V4 Pro, is powered by Sensa HD haptic feedback. That means the chair’s multi-directional haptics (with six motors: four behind you, and two where you sit) react to everything from light drizzles to sword slashes and chunky explosions.
Testing this at the Razer briefing last week, I found the default settings to be a little intense. Thankfully, you are able to adjust the haptics’ strength on the fly, which made the experience much more tolerable. That said, the Freyja is certainly going to have niche appeal. It doesn’t really offer anything to your play session aside from some neat haptics. It is at least very comfy, but I did notice the haptics here were incredibly loud.
If you live with family or housemates, you might want to consider investing in some soundproofing for your room if you’re buying the Freyja. It’s also available now from Razer’s website for $299.99. The product is unfortunately not available for purchase in the UK at this time.
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