Razer Naga Left-Handed Edition gaming mouse review: "A literal and genuine game-changer"

The Razer Naga Left-Handed Edition is a revelation. For lefties, absolutely, but also for those of us who might have slightly 'different' hands of dextrous requirements. But exactly how does this left-handed version take inspiration from its very popular right-handed brethren, years after that originally appeared on our desks? 

Well, the Razer Naga Left-Handed is not just a straight mirroring of one of the most intricately designed mice. Instead, it's got brand new tech under the hood which brings it straight into 2020 like it was here all along. If you're a lefty, it's a serious contender for best gaming mouse.

Features

The main feature of the mouse, of course, are all those glorious buttons. There are 20 of them in all, and each one is programmable. The options this opens up are almost endless. Well, certainly more endless than anything of a true left-handed design that's come before. 

That's because these buttons are fitted with Hyperesponse technology, and they find a nice balance of force required to actuate vs the ease of pressing. Razer Mechanical Mouse Switches adorn the pointer, too, which results in a satisfying and purposeful click with every action. 

The panel of 12 buttons on the side are the stand-out feature on the mouse, however. While the Left-Handed Edition does not have the interchangeable panels of its right-handed equivalent (due to most Naga users relying on the 12-button arrangement and Razer wanting to streamline the design and build process as much as possible), they are still the star of the show and make the Naga as great as it is. The buttons are both easy to press when you need them and easy enough to just rest on if you don't - so if you forget to disable them in an attempt to avoid accidentally hitting buttons, you'll find the danger is relatively low anyway, by design and default.

The sensor is also a true highlight of the rodent. The Razer Focus+ Optical Sensor has a DPI (dots per inch) of up to 20,000, a resolution accuracy of 99.6%, and 650 IPS (inches per second) rating for incredible performance. And those numbers are not just figures on a page. The difference they make and the performance the mouse has because of them is unreal. The speed and control are excellent, and Razer's tech means the mouse can extend this across multiple different mouse surfaces.

As is often the case, Razer's Synapse companion software adds another level of excellence in the features department. Here you can program all the buttons to different 'normal' desktop functions and actions, while also adjusting the mouse's RGB and the DPI sensitivity. This can be changed in five different presets too which make up the different slots selected by the onboard DPI button, allowing you to seamlessly change to different DPI ratings depending on the task or game at hand, on the fly.

Design

The Razer Naga Left-Handed Edition does look identical to the Naga Trinity, and it's true to the form of the MOBA / MMO beast that righties have enjoyed for years. It's instantly recognizable with the panel of programmable buttons on the thumb side of the mouse. However, for those new to the mouse game, then there are some key factors to its design. First, it has an ergonomic, left-handed shape to the shell, built around the higher rear end (for the ball of your hand) before sloping away pleasingly toward the front and away to the left. There's even a 'shelf' for your pinky - something that feels alien on the one hand but absolutely right on the other. Finally, somewhere for a left-handed pinky to go on a mouse! 

Overall, it's a shorter, squatter gaming mouse than most, but it feels brilliant in the hand, weighing in at a medium amount of 3.84oz / 109g.

You can actually hold the mouse in a couple of different ways given there's a grippy pad on the left side, below the pinky shelf, and the roundness of the ball of the mouse means you can alter your position easily. This was a little strange at first, but the versatility in its design just adds another string to its bow.

The main two mouse buttons straddle an easy-to-use mouse wheel which can be rocked from side to side, providing two more buttons, which in turn sits just north of the two DPI buttons (the top one increasing it, the bottom one decreasing it). And attaching it to your machine is one of Razer's Speedflex cables, designed to reduce drag. 

Performance

After getting used to the feel of the mouse a little, it suddenly dawned on me what the Naga Left-handed Edition does for me: even on a day-to-day basis, I suddenly have an enormous range of options. Shortcuts, quick actions, launching apps, whatever I want to do - it's all suddenly possible. The possibilities available were almost more than I knew what to do with, and that was before I'd even booted up a game.

Speaking of which, the Razer Naga Left-Handed Edition brought me enormous enjoyment in games. In Command & Conquer Remastered I was scanning across maps at the speed of light, whilst also organizing and commanding sections of troops and tanks with my thumb alone. I could even put the force attack and force move commands on to the mouse so I'd need not ever engage my right hand on the keyboard at all. 

It was a similar revelation in Troy: A Total War Saga with the mouse doing the work of troop organizing in massive conflicts on the field while allowing me to seamlessly go through all the settlement options and upgrades off it.

Perhaps its best functionality is in games like World of Warcraft. Here I can assign my attacks onboard the mouse and commit all my right-hand mobility to movement, allowing me to dodge out of the way while still hurling spells or blows (my character might never be static in MMOs again). Instead of awkwardly reaching for keyboard buttons, I can now wield everything I want in the comfort of one device. Spellbinding and magic - almost literally.

Even in the Naga's non-native habitat of first-person shooters, I'd still go to this mouse over any other at the moment. The fact that it's so fast means it can hold its own when things get busy, but I can also have all my weapons and functions close to hand - literally - in games like Metro Exodus or Apex Legends. Being able to swap out weapons or combine any number of actions in these games is a massive bonus.

Overall

I'm sure I scoffed in years past at the look of the Naga mouse with its extra buttons, but now I couldn't be without one. This mouse is a roaring success. For the niche market that is us left-handed gamers, this is the perfect one for users. Sure, it's still got a pretty healthy price tag of $99.99 / £99.99, but this is absolutely worth the price of admission.

Team this with one of the best gaming PCs - like the ASUS ROG GA15 that I use in my setup - or, appropriately, with a Razer laptop, and the results are fantastic. Honestly, you'll have a new lease of PC gaming life. 

In short, this is a revelation for left-handed PC gamers, but also left-handed PC users in general; it's a literal and genuine life-changer and best in class. Given its sheer performance in games, and for general use, the Razer Naga Left-Handed Edition is not only a top Razer mouse but the best left-handed gaming mouse by quite some distance.