Everyone knows that when it comes to setting up your PC peripherals, it's all about aesthetics. Okay. Well, maybe not always. A lot of the time it's more worthwhile to invest in high quality products that enhance your gaming experience, but hey, what's wrong with having a little fun and flair at your desk? I'll take a splash of colour whenever I can these days, especially now most quality peripherals ask you whether you want white or black. Or, slate grey if you're lucky.
Every now and then I see a gaming hardware collection which stops me in my tracks. It started with Razer's Hello Kitty and Friends collaboration in 2021, which very quickly emptied my bank account. But Asus collaborating with everyone's favourite virtual popstar, Hatsune Miku, through its mainstream TUF Gaming line certainly wasn't on my bingo card. It makes sense though, Hatsune Miku's whole boldly coloured, cyber aesthetic lends itself perfectly to a gaming hardware collaboration.
The full collection features a TUF Gaming H1 Gen II gaming headset, a mini wireless mouse, a P1 mousemat, and a TUF Gaming K3 Gen II keyboard. All of which are adorned with turquoise, white, and hot pink colourways alongside various Miku decals and icons. On both the headset and the mouse, you'll find silhouettes of Hatsune Miku which, yes, light up when in use. Although I'm not giving scores, this would definitely earn it extra points.
The mouse comes with additional adhesive decals for the left and right button too, should you want something a little more detailed than its standard design. Similarly, the keyboard comes with a handful of additional keycaps should you want to swap things out. These features are a nice touch, even though they're not necessary, and there's no denying that everything certainly looks the part when it's all unboxed and set up next to each other.
But aesthetics aside, I'd say that the Asus TUF Gaming x Hatsune Miku collection is better suited to someone who isn't necessarily tethered to their PC all day every day, but not so much for someone who will use it 24/7. As you can probably tell, I spend a huge amount of my day sitting at my desktop, and as much as I love having my Miku collection out in front of me, it doesn't feel particularly prepared for constant use. Especially for something that costs $335 all-in. But, even though I was initially surprised by its quality when looking at the cost, it still does have its perks.
Taking the mouse for example, the side buttons and left and right buttons are made of thin plastic which initially translates to a cheaper feeling build quality. But, it quickly made me realise that it would be the perfect mouse for fast-paced FPS games like Overwatch or Valorant. It's light weight (65g) definitely helps precise, quick play too. As thin as they are, there's no pushback when pressed which could be the thing you need to get in those all important shots. Not that my aim is particularly good anyway, but I'll take all the help I can possibly get. I'm not going to claim it's one of the best gaming mice, but it definitely serves its purpose, and in style too.
Similarly, the keyboard isn't the most premium product, but that's what the Asus TUF Gaming range is all about. For those who don't want to fork out their life's savings on an Asus ROG setup, it does offer a more approachable alternative… though for licensed collections like this one, that price does increase. The optical-mechanical RGB switches aren't ridiculously loud, which I often find is the case with mechanical keyboards, but the silicone gasket mount and dampening foam helps to soften the noise. The top plate is entirely detachable too, should you want a different vibe from the classic Miku-turquoise.
I will admit, the audio quality of the headset isn't anything to write home about, though. The microphone sits in an awkward position on the side of the ear cup and no matter how much I adjusted it, I felt like it was always too close to my face and was a bit off putting to use. According to some friends I was playing with, the audio quality was a little sharp and crackly at times too. However, I did appreciate that a control panel for volume and a mute button sat on the wire rather than the earcups though. As convenient as ear cup controls are, I'm always fumbling around and pressing the wrong thing no matter how long I spend using it so it made a nice change.
It's hard to go into detail about the mousemat. It's very nice, the print quality is great and I love the design. But, it's hard not to when it's basically just a big illustration of Hatsune Miku. Aside from that, there's not really much else to say besides the fact it works as a mousemat. Though, saying that, I did accidentally knock a glass of water over and was pleasantly surprised when I noticed the mousemat was water resistant and so incredibly easy to dry. Perfect for anyone like me who can't be trusted with drinks at their desk.
If you're looking for a sign to save your money and not spend every last cent on some fun new bits and bobs for your set up, I'm here to tell you that if you're already a well equipped Miku fan you definitely don't need to sink any cash into this collection. With that said, it is incredibly fun and I do have a little smile on my face each time the Miku lights up on my mouse.
Still, with how rare it is to find Hatsune Miku merch outside of Japan—at least from my experience—it's nice to have a good (though not great) collection of hardware which I can get a lot more use out of than my cabinet of plastic figures.
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