Glorious Forge Pro Golden Panda Wireless Review

Conclusion

When you’ve reviewed as many products, and certainly seen as many companies appear, as we have then when one arrives that just does stuff right, it’s a breath of fresh air. Glorious Gaming are undoubtedly a breath of fresh air. They brought ultra-light mice to the world, and whilst the designs might have split opinion because of the holes in the chassis, there is no question they made an impact with so many companies launching copycat products.

With a company that is as small as Glorious Gaming it would be easy to assume that certain elements of their packaging or software might not be up to snuff. Those are usually the last parts anyone thinks of, unless they’re going all-in on the cult of desirability without caring what the actual product quality is *coughBeatscough*. With the Model O Pro coming from their Forge limited edition range this might prove even more true. After all, a limited run from a company that already does limited runs is approaching a singularity. Nothing could be further from the truth. Every single box has been ticked, and in the aforementioned areas they can teach the big brands a lot. But we’re getting slightly ahead of ourselves.

The Model O Pro mouse itself is very simple, with little to mention beyond what you can see. But, like a Michelin starred dish, every element is so beautifully crafted that is adds up to a spectacular whole. There is no RGB besides a small indicator light by the DPI button, but most mouse RGB is the company logo on the palm portion, so covered up. Why not save complexity and weight by removing it then? Exactly. Similarly there is only a tiny bit of branding on the side – visible in the image at the top of every page – which gives the mouse, particularly in this gorgeous Golden Panda yellow colour, a minimalist vibe. The coating is also matte, and whilst we would hesistate to call it textured it isn’t flat either. It’s got the feel of a very smooth pebble. The buttons are extremely crisp too with none of the squidge that can be associated with non-Omrom switches. Speaking of crisp, the scroll-wheel is a thing of wonder. It is both quiet and smooth to scroll quickly, and yet has a subtle enough notch to ensure you can accurately switch guns/skills/etc in your game. It’s almost magic. Lastly the sensor, a 19000DPI one, is smooth and responsive, with no jittering or annoying line following whether you’re moving quickly or slowly. If you’ve ever blamed your mouse, the Model O Pro is so accurate that you can no longer blame the sensor.

Lastly, two areas that might not be completely up to snuff with a small brand, end up being a massive strength of Glorious Gaming. The packaging is beautifully crafted, easy to open, everything in a its place and a place for everything. Having reviewed many mice that required a degree in origami to get back into the packaging, big companies could learn from Glorious. The software is spectacular. In fact we’d go so far as to say it’s the best software package on the planet. It’s quick to install, uninstalls cleanly, is clearly laid out with black text on a white background, everything easy to spot and more responsive than a water boatman. It’s fantastic. Truly spectacular. We wish every peripheral control package was built like this.

There is a tendency for smaller companies to overbrand things because design trumps function, but it speaks volumes about the ethos of Glorious Gaming that the Glorious Forge Model O Pro has minimal branding. The focus is on the product itself and it’s a fantastic product with brilliant software. Crisp buttons, 80+ hour battery life, accurate sensor, no weight and unique colour options make it worthy of a place on your shortest of shortlists.

The Glorious Forge Model O Pro Golden Panda is available for £99.95.

  

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