Corsair Nightsword RGB review: "If Kitt from Knight Rider was a mouse..."

If Kitt from Knight Rider was a mouse, it’d be the Corsair Nightsword RGB. An imposing blend of plastic and lights that smoulder from beneath mesh sheets, this mouse screams ‘gamer’ like nothing I’ve ever seen. To ram the message home, it also packs ten programmable buttons to suit your every need. And yes, it’s a handsome piece of kit. But throwing in everything other than the kitchen sink is where this mouse goes wrong.

Features

The main attraction of the Corsair Nightsword RGB is a tunable weight system. All you need to do is remove the bottom panel and add up to six metal weights to change how it handles. No matter whether you throw in each one to bring it up to 4.9oz / 141g or go without for a considerably lighter 4oz / 119g (or anything in-between), Corsair software will detect the Nightword’s center of gravity in real-time. 

This mouse impresses with its optical sensor, too - it’s quick at 18,000 DPI and has responsive high-speed motion detection of 400 IPS. When you add programmable buttons and RGB shenanigans into the mix, the Nightsword is a feature-heavy pointer.

Design

Everything else aside, the Nightsword RGB has a strong look. As a union of black plastic, cross-hatched rubber, and RGB panelling, it’s got more in common with a Star Trek vessel than most of the best gaming mouse options.

This Trekkie connection is only strengthened with a wing-like shelf to rest your thumb on, while a collection of extra buttons round out its sci-fi impression. Although that gives Corsair’s latest an aggressive look, and one that feels over-designed, we were quite fond of it. This mouse goes all in on nerdy cool-factor, and it works (for some).

Performance

Those bells and whistles don’t gloss over its problems, though. While the Nightsword’s clicks are satisfying, the mouse as a whole isn’t comfortable to use. Take the sniper button on the left-hand side: you’ll need to stretch your thumb awkwardly to reach it. It’s a similar story with the DPI controls up top. Equally, a sheer drop on the right edge means that your pinkie finger is left dangling with nowhere to go. The existing shelf is perfect for resting your thumb, but Corsair needed to add a second one on the other side.

Luckily, the Nightsword doesn’t disappoint when it comes to ergonomics and responsiveness. The cross-hatched case and its rubber side-grips mean that you never feel less than in control. 

The sensor is top-notch as well. Corsair says that this is its most advanced one yet, and iCue lets you adjust the DPI settings one count at a time should you so choose. 

Nothing negative can be said about the Nightsword’s RGB lighting, either - it’s excellent, and will sit nicely alongside the best gaming keyboard. 

But is all this enough to wash away the bad? Not exactly.

Overall - should you buy it?

There’s a lot to praise the Nightsword RGB for. Its sensor is fantastic, it looks great, and the granular customisation on show is much appreciated. Sadly, it’s just too awkward for us to recommend - especially when there are so many great alternatives out there, many of which are from Corsair in the first place. We'd heartily recommend the Corsair Ironclaw or Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro over this one instead.