The looming arrival of the brand new chapters for Toby Fox's Deltarune earlier this month hammered it home how badly I needed to ensure I had one of the best gaming headsets within my grasp before returning to the Dark World with Kris, Suzie, Ralsei, and friends - but luckily, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3X Wireless gaming headset was already primed and ready to go.
Deltarune is iconic for its soundtracks, and I knew going into them that the game's new chapters on my PS5 would be filled with equally catchy and memorable beats. With the pastel Lavender-colored Arctis Nova 3 Wireless on my head, I was able to hear every nuance of the retro-sounding soundtrack and even catch those cheeky Undertale leitmotifs found in the new chapters, which is why I chose to give it a spot of its own amongst our best headset guide.
I started a brand-new playthrough once the new Deltarune chapters dropped worldwide on June 4 during my review testing process, and I'm glad I did. Not only did it give me a profoundly needed reminder of the story up until that point, but it meant I could hear how some of my favorite pieces of video game music sounded through the budget-friendly pastel-colored cups.
Before I was supplied with the Arctis Nova 3 Wireless for review, I had listened to the soundtracks to Deltarune (and Undertale for that matter) on Spotify through the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless gaming headset, so the experience wasn't entirely new. Both headsets sport the same 40mm Neodymium drivers that don't quite capture the gut-punching and unforgettable bass-fueled force of the SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless, but still give justice to Deltarune creator Toby Fox's incredibly memorable tunes.
With the Arctis Nova 3 on my ears, I felt like I could get fully immersed in Deltarune's Dark World, just like Kris and Suzie in the game's first chapter. The eerie but serene sound of the track 'Empty Town' that plays as you roam about the quiet and then empty streets of Castle Town towards the start of the game sounded heavenly through the earcups, and brought back nostalgic memories of playing through the demo for the first time.
That fuzzy and warm nostalgic feeling only escalated once I got further through the first chapter, and the captivating beats of tracks like 'Field of Hopes and Dreams', and the hopeful music that plays as you approach the first fountain swarmed around my eardrums.
This high-quality sound from the Arctis Nova 3 made me as excited as ever to finally start the first of the new chapters, and I'm glad I used them to do just that. Without delving into spoiler territory, the retro-sounding exclamations of Mr Ant Tenna sounded crystal clear through the cups, which was only aided by their incredibly lightweight 260g form factor. The more I wore the headset, the more I was able to immerse myself in Deltarune's world, as it was so light I began to forget it was even on my noggin' in the first place.
One of this headset's best features, opposed to previous models in the Arctis Nova Line, is its detachable ClearCast Gen 2.X microphone. Of course, as a single player game I never needed to use it, but as it's not just retractable like previous models, I could just pop it right out the 3.5mm port and not have to worry about my PS5 accidentally recording my voice over memorable saved Deltarune game clips I captured, or an annoying bouncing boom arm distracting me from the new story beats.
To me, games like Deltarune (and Undertale) are gaming headset games through and through. While the retro-inspired score might sound nauseating for some when isolated directly to your ears, re-playing through this iconic (albeit still unfinished) game lent itself to the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 Wireless thanks to the headset's lightweight comfortable feel, impressive high-quality sound, and simple to use 2.5GHz slimline dongle that easily popped right into the USB-C port on my PS5.
It was just my luck that the adorable pastel-colored Lavender pair I was supplied with for review happened to remind me perfectly of Deltarune's Suzie and her purple aesthetic. A factor that only made me feel more immersed in Toby Fox and team's world and its creations than ever when testing the headset before it earned a spot on our best gaming headset guide.
If the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 Wireless doesn't seem like a good fit, our guides to the best PC headset for gaming, the best Nintendo Switch headsets, and the best Xbox Series X headsets are filled with some great-sounding alternatives.
