Customization is now the focus in the gaming peripherals scene, and it has come a long way for gaming mice and keyboards. A lot of gaming keyboards and mice available in the market are now macro-enabled, letting users program key combinations into a single key. Some open more customization capabilities to users by featuring hot-swappable keys, RGB customization, unique dedicated buttons, on-the-fly weight adjustments, and so much more. However, most of the mentioned features would only be found on gaming keyboards.
On the other hand, Gaming mice have only a handful of customization available as of the moment. And in this era where there’s a significant rise of competitive players, gaming peripherals, specifically gaming mice, are key ingredients in one’s victory. This led gaming brands and their product design team to create gaming mice that allow unrestricted movement and precision controls. This kind of gaming mouse is now known as ultralight gaming mice.
One gaming brand, hailed from Singapore, has recently unveiled its own take on this kind of gaming mouse. AftershockPC, a leading custom PC provider in Singapore, has entered the ultralight gaming mouse arena with its Hexar Ultralight Gaming Mouse, which we’ll be taking a closer look at in this review.
A borrowed form with a bit of Aftershock touch
If you’re no stranger in the gaming peripherals loop, you’ll find that Aftershock’s Hexar ultralight gaming mouse shares the same design as other gaming mice that are of the ultralight segment.
Just like other brands’, Aftershock’s Hexar ultralight gaming mouse comes blasted in a matte black finish that’s smooth to the touch. However, this is the only color available for the Hexar as of this writing. Unlike other offerings, Aftershock’s Hexar features the brand’s logo inside its shell, which can be seen through its shell’s perforations. This logo features LED illumination and share the same led zone with the scroll wheel; thus, its color reflects the scroll button and changes LED color depending on the DPI. There’s also an RGB enabled zone located underneath, which features Aftershock’s RGB Spectra. This RGB zone covers almost the whole of its under chassis, starting from the ‘Aftershock’ print on the left side and travels to the mouse’s right edge.
Most of its shell (top and the bottom) feature perforations that make its innards visible and lessens the overall weight. However, this kind of design raises worry to some, as water droplets and food or other environmental debris could easily slip through the perforations rendering possible damage to its exposed innards. But it also makes cleaning it extra easy by using compressed air or just by blowing through the perforations.
Underneath the Aftershock Hexar gaming mouse are PTFE mouse skates that provide smooth and unrestricted movement, which greatly complements its lightweight build, allowing for a faster in-game reaction.
A hit and miss kind of affair
Aftershock’s rather sudden release of its Hexar gaming mouse was a hit and miss decision, in our opinion. Tho the Aftershock Hexar ultralight gaming mouse is well built and comes at a very reasonable price, the unique traits that we look for in products such as this are somewhat absent.
Aftershock’s Hexar ultralight gaming mouse is outfitted with a Pixart 3389 sensor, which presents a sensitivity selection up to 16,000 DPI with 1000 Hz polling rate; Huano switches that are both long-lasting (up to 20-million clicks) and tactile; a home-brewed paracord cable they call Air-Weave cable; seven buttons, with the usual six being fully customizable and one reserved as a LOD button; and an RGB underglow that’s not too much for our liking.
This ultralight gaming mouse is well equipped, i’ll give it that. However, the release that was meant to put it neck to neck with other ultralight gaming mouse offerings presented one looming issue for early adopters like us – Aftershock wasn’t able to back up the Hexar with a working software for button mapping, macro setting, and RGB control. We reached out to them via the Aftershock Facebook page, on the 27th of March 2020 and asked about the software as there weren’t any on their website. On March 31, 2020, they responded and said that the manufacturer could not provide them with software as of the moment, and that they would reach out to me once it becomes available.
However, for us to properly review the Hexar, we would need software to control and know the extent of its RGB effects and illumination and its button mapping and macro setting. So, we decided to look into some software and found something that would work with Aftershock’s Hexar ultralight gaming mouse. Read on to know which software we used.
A satisfying experience nonetheless
Even though there are some shortcomings from the brand, it was still and will still be a satisfying experience nonetheless.
Its Pixart 3389 and lightweight build made the Hexar a near-perfect weapon for FPS games that require fast response and pin-point movements. With that combination, Aftershock’s Hexar ultralight gaming mouse allowed us to have complete and precise control over in-game movements even when we’re working on a narrow table that only allows minimal hand movement. Its PTFE skates also contribute to the Hexar’s fast and limit-breaking mobility.
Moreover, Aftershock’s home-brewed Air-Weave cable, which is comparable to a spun polyester shoelace that’s both durable and flexible, renders its Hexar ultralight gaming mouse with unrestricted movement even at its most extended form, translating to a worry-free and top-notch user experience. At times it felt like I was using a wireless mouse but would be reminded that it was not every time I glance at it.
Precision control, even at tight spaces that only allow limited movement, is what a budding or a veteran eSports athlete require, and that is where the Aftershock Hexar ultra-light gaming mouse excels at. Additionally, unintended or extended in-game camera movements caused by mouse lifts due to a low dpi or a limited mouse area won’t be a problem, as the Hexar ultralight gaming mouse features a lift-off distance of 3 millimeter that can on-the-fly narrow down to 2 millimeter through the LOD button near the sensor or through the software.
And even if the Hexar ultralight gaming mouse is intended for palm grip as its palm rest is notably embowed, users who are used to claw grip can still have a great experience with Aftershock’s Hexar ultralight gaming mouse, as its main buttons that feature Huano switches would still be functional even when clicked on the perforated portions of the right and left mouse buttons.
Noob’s note and what we think:
Aftershock is something new to me, as this brand is hailed from Singapore. They built their name and strengthened the brand by providing custom-built PCs that are not only eye-candies but are also built with great performance. With their solid track record and a growing community, it’s just right to expand their product line to provide gamers with what they need and deserve. And their Hexar ultralight gaming mouse is just the start of their new book.
So, if you’re someone who doesn’t get bothered with perforations on a gaming peripheral and you’re currently looking to get a gaming mouse that has great precision control and limit-breaking mobility, then the Aftershock Hexar ultralight gaming mouse would be a great fit for you. However, there’s but one issue still looming on the horizon for those who would get a Hexar gaming mouse – the software for it is still currently unavailable. And if that is something you can live with for the time being, then by all means, go get one now.
But if the absence of software holds you back from getting the Aftershock Hexar ultralight gaming mouse, then this is your lucky day as we have tested different software from different brands and have found the right fit for the Hexar. If you’re really itching to get this ultralight gaming mouse by Aftershock, then you might want to download and use
this software to be able to access the RGB, macro, and other settings of Aftershock’s Hexar ultralight gaming mouse for the time being.
Finally, for those who would want to purchase one, you can get one via the AftershockPC website. The Hexar ultralight gaming mouse carries an SGD 50 price tag or around the sub 1,800 PHP price point.
And with that, we give the Aftershock Hexar Ultralight Gaming Mouse our best value award.
