Fractal Design's Scape proves that an RGB gaming headset doesn't need to be all about style over substance

I like my cups to come in all shapes and sizes, but the Scape takes the cake for the most understated and professional-looking out there today. If you're after a gaming headset that manages to include a great sound and customizable RGB lighting, but without that tacky 'gamer' trademark design, you should look no further than Fractal Design's debut pair of cups.

At $199.99 / £149.99, this fantastic-looking headset doesn't come cheap. Its less-than-ideal battery life might also be a deal-breaker for some, as it only supports up to 40 hours of playback (and that's only achievable if you turn off one of the headset's nicest features, its gorgeous RGB lighting).

However, the Scape more than makes up for its missing features. The accompanying charging stand gives you a way to ensure it's juiced up between gaming sessions, and its soft earpads help isolate some unwanted sound around you. Most importantly, the Scape doesn't skimp out on audio or microphone quality, and it happens to have one of the most straightforward pieces of software out there - one that doesn't clog up your PC's storage.

It's not a perfect PC headset, nor does it have the best sound on the market today (the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless still has that honor where I'm concerned), but this first outing has me eagerly excited over what the future may bring for the future Scape headsets to come.

Key Specs

Design

The look of the Scape ties in masterfully with the rest of Fractal Design's products because it abides by that same understated and professional look. There's no gaudy logos or blinding rainbow lighting effects to be found, and instead, the Scape adds an element of sophistication to any desk it sits on.

My desk is cluttered with anime figures and Pusheen gaming lamps, so it's quite a feat that one headset has managed to boost its professionalism.

The over-ear pair of cups is equipped with a slight gray colorway, from its glossy plastic headband to its matching charging stand. While every inch of it is gray, its oblong-rounded cup cushions, padded headband, and the two thin pads on the stand feature a light charcoal-colored fabric that breaks up the design and gives it that added eye-catching edge.

The headset yokes, volume spin dial, and the top tip of the detachable microphone are all metal, with the only drop of actual color being found from the RGB lighting on the underside of each cup.

I'm a big fan of lighting when it's utilized by headsets in unique ways. The Corsair Virtuoso Max Wireless, which has a similar resemblance to the Scape, is one of my favorite premium pairs of cups for this exact reason, but I think Fractal's decision to have half a cup of lighting has won me over more.

By default, this lighting glows a gorgeous blue gradient hue, which can be customized via the in-browser Fractal Design Adjust software. There's a lovely range of lighting presets to choose from with names just as stylish as the headset itself, ranging from 'Lunar Mist' to 'Radiant Dawn'. The 'Sunset' option, which uses a range of orange, purple, and pink hues, was my favorite of the lot and has stuck with me throughout the entire testing period.

Features

The Fractal Scape is a mid-range outing for PC, Mac, PS5, and Nintendo Switch (and Switch 2) players, which piles on the customizability and worthwhile features.

It's equipped with multiple methods of connectivity, including wired, Bluetooth 5.3, and 2.4GHz wireless through its accompanying dongle. Just like the Logitech G522 Lightspeed, the Scape was fully compatible with the Switch 2 right out of the box, even without any firmware updates.

Fractal Design has included a detachable unidirectional super wide-band microphone, charging stand, wireless dongle, and a USB charging cable right in the box.

The stand has a cut-out section, which I at first thought was spare for the cable to lay when charging, but there's actually a well-hidden USB-C port on the underside of the stand. When you're ready to give it a charge, all you have to do is plop down the headset, and it will magnetically adhere in place to the base and start juicing up.

When it comes to audio, Fractal Design doesn't specifically share the driver size or type anywhere online. All I could gather is that the headset features "custom-tuned drivers" with a 20-20,000 Hz frequency response, which is on par with a lot of mid-range headsets available today. You can also customize the sound by using the browser-built Fractal Adjust software, or pressing a button integrated on the right ear cup.

You can save up to three custom audio presets in total, which you can later switch between on the fly. The right ear cup also hosts the USB-C port and RGB on/off button, which is handy to take note of if you want to preserve battery life. With it turned off, you can expect up to 40 hours of playback, which is less than ideal. With the RGB lighting turned on, you can expect it to be at an even lower 24 hours.

When we get down to it, is anyone ever going to have a session of playing Marvel Rivals on the PS5 without stopping to charge for 40 hours? I certainly hope not, but for its price, I just expected it to be aiming for between 60-70 hours instead. During my playtime, I had to make sure the charging stand was set up at all times, as it battery didn't last the first week of testing. This wasn't too much of a hinderance on PC, but on the PS5, that meant having to find a spare USB port for both the 2.4GHz dongle and the charging cable, which was a bit trickier.

The left ear cup is home to the power on/off button, 2.4GHz to Bluetooth switch toggle, mic mute button, and the volume wheel.

The Fractal Adjust software is probably the biggest selling point for the Scape (besides its stylish appearance). You don't have to clog up your PC with yet another piece of proprietary software, and instead, it runs straight through any browser.

This is also where you'll get access to microphone sidetone, an important feature if, like me, you prefer to hear how your voice sounds through a microphone while gaming or chatting away to your pals on Discord.

Performance

With just how big a fan I was of the Scape's Scandinavian design, I was worried the headset would be all style and no substance, but I was pleasantly surprised. The cups provide a better-than-average sound, with the low, mid, and high range frequencies found within any game I threw its way sounding absolutely heavenly.

Normally, this would be the time where I'd describe exactly what type of drivers are lurking in the headset to make it sound that good, but like I mentioned earlier, the brand hasn't shared the size or the type in this instance. Whatever they are, they sound great, and that's the most important part.

I predominantly play on the PS5, so Sony's console was the first that I used to test out these stylish cups. While playing Marvel Rivals, the spatial clarity of the cups actually brought my attention to the creepy, squelchy sounds playing throughout the season 3.5 title screen, which I wouldn't have taken notice of otherwise. Slowly racking up my new healer main, Jeff the Land Shark, to a Lord proficiency felt easier than ever, too, especially as I could clearly make out every footstep and the direction of every character's ultimate, so I could swim away in an instant.

This was the same case on the PC, where I tested the headset through the PC version of Marvel Rivals, and some matches roaming about the Scottish Edinburgh-based map in Counter-Strike 2 against the CPU. As I was able to have more control over the master volume (headsets are always a bit quiet on the PS5 for some reason), I experienced an extra oomph to its sound on my gaming PC. However, using Adjust is where the magic was truly unearthed.

By default, the Scape comes with three built-in audio presets, ranging from Balance (default), Clarity, and Depth. You can switch between these with the touch of a literal button on the right cup, or tweak them to your liking via the Adjust tool, and that's exactly what I did.

You can access Adjust by simply navigating to the browser-built software. I test so many headsets that my PC feels weighted down and clogged up by these over-complicated bits of software slop. I was almost driven to tears at the relief of not having to download another.

Adjust is the easiest headset software I've ever had the pleasure of using. I was able to push up the bass frequency to its fullest, overwrite the third custom save slot, and instantly map the preset to the third setting of the EQ button. Having that extra bass boost was exactly what I needed to give soundtracks to games like Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE Plus on the PS5 that booming drive to elevate the funky sounds Too Kyo Games are known for.

With super easy customization in my hands, I could liven up the sound of everything, whether it was the PC or PS5 version of Marvel Rivals, Dead by Daylight, Rain Code, or even Donkey Kong Bananza on the Switch 2 - which has only helped me become more impressed by Fractal's Design debut cups.

The unidirectional super wideband microphone also worked a treat. There's a tiny high-pitched tinny ness to the sound it generates, but it settles in nicely when mixed in with the soundstage and background noise of games like Marvel Rivals, Dead by Daylight, or anything I played online with friends.

Its boom arm isn't my favorite, as it's one of those long, cylindrical-shaped ones that, no matter how much you adjust it, will still slowly spring back to its original shape over time. There's also no foam coverage over the end, either, so if you tend to be on the loud side, I recommend that you navigate to the Adjust tool and turn on your sidetone so you can hear your voice in action at all times.

Should you buy the Fractal Design Scape headset?

During my first week of testing, I fell head over heels for the look and aesthetic of Fractal Designs' debut cups.

The Scape is unquenchably cool-looking, and exactly what I would imagine up in my head if a similarly suave brand like Apple ever decided to enter the gaming headset market. Whether it's down to the unique padded charging stand, which takes up minimal space on my already cluttered desk, the lovely oblong-shaped cups and their trendy fabric coating, or the subtle use of RGB lighting on only the bottom edges - every inch of the Scape oozes sophistication.

For a $199.99 / £149.99 MSRP, I was expecting a tiny bit more. No matter how good it looks, I just can't get over the measly battery life, especially when there's plenty of mid-range headsets that are far cheaper and give you plenty more juice to keep gaming for longer. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless is just $149.99 at Amazon, and gets even cheaper when deals and discounts are involved, and it provides up to 60 hours of playback. Sure, it's missing the pretty RGB lighting and chargable stand, but having the reassurance of a worthwhile battery life is more important when it comes to a wireless headset in my eyes.

The existence of the charging stand does partially make up for my battery woes, as you can pop it on the stand and have it charging any time you're not using it to make sure it doesn't die on your mid-game. So long as you remember to keep the stand plugged in, you shouldn't ever have to actually worry about the battery life, but that it's still a bummer that opting to turn on the RGB lighting, one of the most glorious-looking parts of a headset I adore for its aesthetics, drains the battery life so badly.

If you're fed up with the range of gaming headsets that seem more tailored to the younger gaming generation with their tacky rainbow lighting and chunky plastic form factors, the Scape is a valid option. Besides my small quabbles with the battery, adding it to this setup will net you one of the best-looking gaming headsets available today, and you can feel reassured that it's not all about style over substance.

How I tested the Fractal Design Scape headset

The Scape headset became my everyday gaming headset for two weeks during the testing process. In that time, I popped the 2.4GHz dongle into my gaming PC to play rounds of Marvel Rivals and Counter-Strike 2. As the PS5 is my gaming platform of choice, I also hooked up the wireless dongle to my Sony console and played hours of Marvel Rivals and Dead by Daylight on my preferred platform, along with single-player games like Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE Plus, and Death Stranding Director's Cut.

I also hooked up the dongle to the Nintendo Switch 2, and used it to smash my way through the endgame of Donkey Kong Bananza and while touring the globe in Mario Kart World. When not gaming, the Scape replaced my everyday pair of headphones and was used to listen to the Scottish band Slime City and their 'Death Club' album on Spotify (my current music earworm), and was used to catch up with the latest episodes of Dexter Resurrection on Paramount Plus.

For more information on how we test gaming headsets, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

If the battery life of the Fractal Design Scape doesn't suit your needs, our guides to the best PS5 headsets, the best Xbox Series X headsets, and the best PC headsets for gaming are full of alternatives with enough juice to keep you gaming for longer.