8BitDo Retro R8 Review

I’ve come to praise what I can only describe as 8BitDo’s commitment to the beat. From the 8BitDo Retro Keyboard and Pro 3 Gamepad to the R8 gaming mouse under my hand, they all have a distinctive and unique look, but they’re much more than a retro façade slapped on any vintage peripheral. Although the 8BitDo Retro R8 probably owes both its greatest strengths and greatest weaknesses to this involvement.

The version I have in my hands is Edition N. Based on the vintage school Nintendo Entertainment System (NES, to you and me), it’s covered in a pale, toasty gray color scheme, punctuated by a hint of red and black, and gray at the base. This is probably the most engaging looking mouse I’ve tested in years, and the same can be said about the mouse translucent green Xbox edition.

As soon as you hold this mouse in your hand, you’ll feel every one of its unique design choices. The ends are angular rather than the grooves we expect from most mice, and the left and right side buttons are recessed into the frame of the mouse itself. This means you need to get a lever on the opposite side of the mouse to get enough room to insert your finger.

These side buttons are an odd choice, although it means you’re less likely to accidentally click them. Importantly, combined with the textured scroll wheel, the mouse looks aged, even more so than the color scheme.

The R8 isn’t as sleek and ergonomically designed as some mice I’ve tried. Due to its angular layout, I expected my grip to feel tight, but in practice it certainly isn’t tight. It is so comfortable that it lies in the hand and I am surprised by its natural feel.

Despite its old-school appearance, the Retro R8 is newfangled where it counts. It can be used in wired, Bluetooth or 2.4 GHz mode. The stand is one of my favorite parts of everyday exploit of the Retro R8. The charging stand not only looks great and, as the name suggests, charges the mouse, but it can also function as a wireless receiver.

When shipped, the 2.4 GHz dongle is located in a petite compartment under the mouse, but can be removed and inserted into the base of the stand. This means that not only do I have a place to store the mouse when I’m done with work, but it hasn’t run out of battery once since I’ve been using it.

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At 100 hours in Bluetooth mode and anywhere from 26 to 105 on the 2.4 GHz band (depending on the polling rate used), I found that by putting it on a stand every few days for about half an hour, I was able to get it charged up and ready to go. The mouse looks great on the stand, which reminded me to put it out when I’m done for the day.

The gray bottom of the R8 blends beautifully with the gray base of the stand, and the curve of the hand on the mouse creates a sleek, flowing surface with the front of the stand. The technology used in the mouse is also surprisingly good for a near-budget price. The PAW 3395 optical sensor provides a maximum of 26,000 DPI, and the mouse can reach up to a polling rate of 8,000 Hz. Unfortunately, this maximum can only be achieved in wired mode, but the 4000Hz polling rate via the dongle is more than enough for me.

Nimble, jittery shooters like Counter-Strike 2 are as agile and edgy as you want them to be. I never feel any resistance when jumping around maps, trying to hit heads and hitting the wall behind them (don’t worry, this is normal for me). The connection performed perfectly in testing, never dropping out when connected to the rack. Under these specs (and feel), it’s not quite a competitive mouse, but it’s comfortable and basic to exploit.

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Nimble, fast-paced shooter (or should I stay stabbed?) Blood thief it works great with the sensitive Retro R8 sensor, although I had previously remapped the pairing button to the left side and that sunken click causes me to waste some time.

If I position my hand so it’s a little higher on the mouse, I get the grip I need to click quickly, making up for that time, but it’s still an adjustment I don’t have to make with other mice. After a while I got used to these buttons, but it was still an adjustment.

The recessed buttons mean (sorry for the gross image) that there’s a slightly greater risk of finger grease or residue getting stuck in them. Or, I should say, you’re more likely to leave it here, since cleaning the side buttons on a more time-honored mouse is simply a matter of wiping them.

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With the R8, you need to insert a petite object into the slot, just like with controllers. Honestly, removing scum from the button slots is about as retro as cleaning dirt from the tracking wheels of an vintage trackball mouse, so everything scans.

From the beginning, the buttons on the right are inactive. This is because the 8BitDo Retro R8 ships in right-handed mode by default. However, it’s technically an ambidextrous mouse, so you can reverse which side is on using the 8BitDo Ultimate software.

You can also set macros, adjust clicks, adjust DPI or change the polling rate. There’s no way to change any of these elements on the mouse itself without software, but the software is intuitive, if a little basic.

The lack of RGB means there is nothing superfluous on the software side to deal with. This does lend a hand with battery life though.

At 77g, the R8 is twice as bulky as the ultra-light Corsair Saber V2 Pro and half as bulky as the Corsair Scimitar Elite Wireless SE. The 8BitDo Retro R8 fits in the slightly heavier portion of a normal mouse, although I wouldn’t be able to tell by feel alone.

It is well balanced, basic to lift, and yet not too basic to tip over. Although the flat edges on the front of the mouse look a bit strange, in practice you certainly don’t feel it.

Sometimes, when paying for retro equipment, you have the impression that you are only paying for aesthetics. The 8BitDo Retro R8 is a pleasant surprise because not only is it a very nice-looking mouse with shrewd technologies, but it also comes at a price that seems reasonable considering these specs alone. Instead of paying retro tax, the R8 makes me feel like I’m getting a retro discount.