Score: 9/10 | GAMING MOUSE | RGB
“The Razer Basilisk Essential is a high quality performing mouse that I don’t see myself replacing anytime soon.”
Straight out of the box, I knew instantly that I’d enjoy using the Razer Basilisk Essential Gaming Mouse. I hadn’t even plugged it in but just from the feel of it, this light, sleek and simply designed mouse fit my hand like a glove. Over time I came to realize that simplicity, quality and affordability can come in the one package.
The Razer Basilisk Essential is the baby of the Basilisk family with the original making its debut on the market in 2017. At around $40 cheaper, it boasts most of the original features but also waters some down. It does however still present a sleek and comfortable ergonomic design. My thumb instantly made itself at home in the crevice on the left. Resting comfortably on the grip I was able to spend hours playing games without having to constantly press my thumb up against the mouse. Grip is also found along the right-hand side which to the touch of my pinky finger felt very comfortable.
Gliding smoothly along my mouse-pad and onscreen, the Basilisk Essential weighs a light 95g and has a 6,400 DPI Optical Sensor. Which is almost 10,000 less than the original model. Not having the most sensitivity a mouse could deliver wasn’t a huge hassle personally. Changing sensitivity between different games however was super simple with an already programmed button under the scroll wheel to change settings on the fly. The multi-function paddle on the side has a default programmed Sensitivity Clutch which surprisingly helped me more in regards to precision in digital image editing as opposed to aiming in games. But if you’re like me and this feature isn’t a requirement, the Basilisk Essential’s paddle and its 7 other buttons (the scroll wheel being counted as 3) can all be programmed through the Razer Synapse program.
Synapse is where the Basilisk Essentials key features come to life. Any and every button can be mapped to perform all sorts of functions. Controlling the volume, push-to-talk and even launching other programs instantly are just some of the features that can be performed with literally just a click of a button. Of all the functions to program to my paddle, my personal preference is mapping it to my reload button as a keyboard function. Unlike the original Basilisk mouse the paddle only comes in one length so smaller hands may need to do some thumb stretching.
Another key feature missing from the Basilisk Essential is the adjustable scroll wheel resistance. I have a heavy finger when it comes to scrolling through weapons in games which will always lead to manually switching on the keyboard instead. However the scroll wheel is a decent size and grips my finger nicely.
And what’s a Razer product without some pretty lights. The Basilisk Essential comes with Razer Chroma light affects which can customized via Razer Synapse. These light effects can spice up your gaming setup or add to an already existing RBG light show. It’s a downgrade from the original Basilisk which boasted not only a light on the main face of the mouse like on the Essential but also within the scroll wheel. Personally I would have preferred a scroll wheel RGB light instead, just so I can experience the colours cycling from one to the other from the corner of my eye.
up to 20 million clicks under its belt, the Razer Basilisk Essential Gaming Mouse is the perfect addition to any setup for those on a budget. It’s a high quality performing mouse that I don’t see myself replacing anytime soon.
