The Steelseries Rival 5 is a wired first-person shooter (FPS) mouse—a rarity in the last year or so—that gives you nine buttons, a solid shape with a good grip, and lots of RGBs, all for a mere $59.99. Unfortunately, the under-thumb “sniper” button on the side of the mouse is difficult to reach, disrupting the comfy grip. If you can get past that minor but irritating flaw, the Rival 5 is a well-made and affordable gaming mouse, but if you’re specifically in the market for an FPS mouse, the Rival 5 may be too much of a reach.
A Stretch for Your Thumb
Steelseries describes the Rival 5 as a wired multi-genre mouse, but in terms of physical design, it’s specifically a right-handed FPS mouse with nine buttons. On top, you have two clicks, a scroll wheel, and a DPI cycling button. On the left (thumb) side, you have a single large up-down toggle switch that juts out just above the Back and Forward buttons. The toggle is very useful if you need a quick way to cycle through weapons in a game, and it also works well for general uses such as adjusting audio volume.
Lastly, there’s a large silver rectangular button near the front of the mouse, a bit in front of the spot where the tip of your thumb should rest. A thumb button is often called a sniper button and used to temporarily drop your mouse’s DPI to facilitate headshots in FPS games. Oddly, the Rival 5 doesn’t let you map the button to that function, but it still qualifies as an FPS mouse in my book.
Like other FPS mice, the Rival 5 has a shape that emphasizes comfort over speed. Measuring 1.84 by 2.94 by 5.13 inches (HWD), it’s slightly long, but only just slightly. Weighing 3.10 ounces, it isn’t as light as Steelseries’ new Prime esports mice, such as the Prime Wireless, but it still glides quickly and easily. The high-humped chassis guides your hand into a draped position that’s comfortable to hold for long stretches.
Despite that, the Rival 5’s fit is a bit off. Specifically, it’s difficult to find a position that both feels natural and allows you to reach the sniper button. While testing the mouse, I had to either reach as far as possible to graze the button or choke up on the mouse to tap it properly. Adjusting my grip to use the button wasn’t wholly uncomfortable, but I naturally grasp the mouse further down. Even when I intended to choke up on it, I found myself reverting to the more comfortable position, taking the button out of play, without thinking about it. And this can’t really be blamed on the Rival 5 being a one-size-fits-all mouse; I’ve used plenty of FPS mice without experiencing a similar issue. The button is just a smidge too far forward.
Though finding the right grip can be a problem, holding that grip isn’t. A coating on the Rival 5’s matte black shell helps keep your hand in place.
The Rival 5 also offers quite the light show. It features four lighting elements: a logo in the palm, a scroll wheel, and two accent light bars near the top of the mouse. Each bar can be changed in up to four places. It’s too bad that you can’t see any of the RGBs while using the mouse.
Under the hood, the Rival 5 features Steelseries’ TrueMove Air sensor, the same one used in the Prime Wireless. The TrueMove Air can track at up to 18,000 DPI and stays accurate at up to 400 inches per second. It’s a very strong sensor for a mid-tier wired mouse, though many manufacturers seem to be pushing toward using high-end sensors in all mice, regardless of price.
The Engine That Could
The Rival 5 is easy to configure with Steelseries’ software. On Windows, Steelseries’ new support app, GG, includes the full Engine configuration app, plus a screen-capture tool called Moments. GG is not available on Mac yet, but Mac players can still configure the mouse using the legacy Steelseries Engine app.
Engine is a compact, utilitarian app that lets you set DPI presets, remap buttons, create macros, and customize RGB lighting. It also has some more advanced features, such as adjusting acceleration and angle snapping, that aren’t in many config apps. The user interface is meant to look very high-tech, but it’s easy to find what you’re looking for and make changes.
The Rival 5 stores its default mouse profile in onboard memory, and Engine can store additional profiles on your computer. A single onboard profile is literally the bare minimum, but it’s acceptable given the mouse’s relatively low price.
A Rival, a Contender
Even with a small but glaring shape issue, the Rival 5 is a very solid wired gaming mouse. At $59.99, it costs just a tad more than you’d spend on a basic esports mouse, and you’ll get three extra buttons and a sparkly RGB setup. If you’re serious about your FPS play and need a sniper button, I’d nudge you toward a golden oldie like the Razer Basilisk. (Razer makes at least three of them now at different price points). If you just want a great all-around mouse, though, the Rival 5 is comfortable, good-looking, and easy to use.
