This keyboard looks like it's been plucked straight from Half-Life 1 with how well it replicates low-res classic game textures

Higround Basecamp 75+ keyboard with retro blurry low-res keycaps — (Image credit: Higround)

We've had it all with keyboards by now, really, haven't we? From mechanical to Hall effect and optical, knobs and dials, touch panels, custom artisanal keycaps, and everything in between. So what else could we add? A blurry font, of course!

That's the whole idea behind the Higround Basecamp 75+ Blur, as its name subtly suggests. It's not just any old blur slapped on top of the QWERTies here, though, as this font is specifically designed to look like a low-res game texture, as it's "inspired by early 3D game textures."

At least, there is for gamers; I'm sure non-gamers will just see a blur. But to me it looks so much like a low-res texture designed for one of those old CRTs that I reckon I'd feel like a bona fide Gordon Freeman plugging it in.

That, I think, is part of the appeal: You set it on your desk and it genuinely does look like an old in-game texture pack has made its way into physical reality (the blurry key bordering helps, too).

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It actually seems like a decent keyboard, too. The side profile shows a sturdy-looking case and a chunky height profile to the PBT keycaps. According to Higround, inside that ABS frame is tons of dampening and foam, and in addition to some pre-lubed TTC HC Blitz switches you're also getting some proper RGB.

Oh, and it's the correct (yes, correct) layout, too, at 75%. If you're not going for a numpad, I reckon this form factor is where it's at, as you still get the arrow keys and some of those other navigation keys.

The keyboard's going for $160, which doesn't ring too badly in my book, provided all that dampening makes for some lovely thocks.

We've reported on some other cool keyboard designs from Higround before (1, 2), but this one's my favourite of the bunch. I think the low-res idea is done so well here that I'd consider picking one up myself, and I'm about as anti-novelty as they come.

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Jacob got his hands on a gaming PC for the first time when he was about 12 years old. He swiftly realised the local PC repair store had ripped him off with his build and vowed never to let another soul build his rig again. With this vow, Jacob the hardware junkie was born. Since then, Jacob's led a double-life as part-hardware geek, part-philosophy nerd, first working as a Hardware Writer for PCGamesN in 2020, then working towards a PhD in Philosophy for a few years while freelancing on the side for sites such as TechRadar, Pocket-lint, and yours truly, PC Gamer. Eventually, he gave up the ruthless mercenary life to join the world's #1 PC Gaming site full-time. It's definitely not an ego thing, he assures us.

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