I'll be honest, for years I always thought that Razer provided niche products to hardcore gamers and it wasn't really a brand I took much interest in.
However over the past couple of years I have inadvertently become a bit of a Razer fanboy, completely by accident rather than design.
Out of several peripherals I have tried, I opted for a Razer product. In fact, the only 3rd party hardware I use that isn't Razer are my mouse and keyboard (logitech G502 !).
My most recent Razer purchases have been the Razer Nari headset, which is just phenomenal for gaming and the Razer Ripsaw capture device.
Both of these purchases were based on sheer quality, performance and value as opposed to any kind of brand loyalty.
So on to the Razer Kishi, released August 2020 and designed for cloud gaming (specifically Xcloud). I tested it with a Samsung S10 Streaming via PC, Xbox and PS4.
It is a compact device that opens up into two joycon like grips that are positioned either end of your horizontally held Android or Apple phone. On the back is a strengthened rubberised band that keeps a snug fit on the phone via tension.
This band is of a high quality and doesn't look like something that will lose its shape or sag over time.
It also works incredibly well, combined with rubberised indents in either "joycon" it held my phone perfectly, no movement or slippage whatsoever. This soft rubberised indent also serves the purpose of protecting your phone from any wear or scratching whilst gaming.
Now obviously due to its aesthetic, this product is going draw comparisons with the Nintendo Switch, so how does it compare?
I much prefered using the Kishi to the joycons. They are a little thicker, so fit more naturally in an adult hand. This also makes the triggers slightly larger and easier to use, it pretty much feels like a slightly smaller version of an Xbox One controller.
As mentioned previously, there is no movement of either controller while playing, something I have noticed when using joycons is that there is a bit of give and movement against the Switch rails. Overall the build quality feels better with the Kishi.
The controller blocks off the physical 3.5mm headphone jack, but its a phone, so Bluetooth is a sensible option. The Kishi also uses the USB-C to connection on your phone, but does have a pass through USB-C on the bottom of the right hand controller to facilitate charging while you're playing.
On the downside, there is no rumble feature and no gyro (although if you have a gyro function on your phone, this is still recognised along with touchscreen when playing games via Steam). All this keeps the form-factor down to pocket sized and the weight to only 265g.
I am not blessed with great internet and I'm also based in a country that has a Great Firewall that severely inhibits the performance of Cloud based gaming, so all my testing was done streaming from my devices over my home WiFi network (5GHz Radio).
As a relatively new father living in a moderately sized apartment it's often not convenient (or allowed) to use the big living room TV for gaming. Over the first few months of parenthood, my Nintendo Switch was an absolute godsend, transforming bathroom time in particular, to an almost earthly Nirvana.
The sheer convenience of the form-factor made gaming more convenient, quiet and more personal, removing my enormous electronic footprint from above the rest of the family.
I tried to extend this experience by streaming from my Xbox, PC and PS4, using a phone holding clip attached to my dualshock or Xbox controller. But it always felt off balance and cumbersome and never really clicked with me. Within a few minutes of gaming with the controller and clip, it just felt uncomfortable, no matter at what angle I adjusted the phone. It always felt like I was watching a game on my phone, rather than playing it as the awkward nature of the setup was an obstacle to immersion.
With the Kishi however it feels completely natural and you feel far more in control. For all intents and purposes, it is like playing on a slightly more comfortable Switch, with my entire library of Steam, PS4 and Xbox titles at my fingertips. (As long as I don't stray out of WiFi range).
Gaming performance is of course going to vary depending on a lot of factors, depending on your hardware, WiFi and locale.
I personally found streaming to be an incredibly positive experience. The Kishi connects directly to your phone via USB-C so I was able to stream to my phone at high quality with no discernible controller input lag. When I had previously used a controller paired to my phone via Bluetooth, I sometimes felt there was a bit of input lag and delay in responsiveness.
It is worth noting that the official PS4 Streaming app "PS4 Remote" doesn't support the Kishi, or indeed any controller except the dualshock. It's also quite a cumbersome app, with below average performance when compared with Steam or Xbox streaming.
I used a third party app available for $4.99 on the playstore called "PSPlay", this streams beautifully and also allowed for a full screen experience on the awkward 19:9 screen ratio of my S10. I am in no way affiliated with or sponsored by this app, its just a bloody good app and well worth $5!
With regard to value for money, your mileage is going to vary depending on your situation. For me personally it provides convenient, comfortable access to my entire gaming library, without incurring the wrath of my wife. That alone makes it priceless.
The Kishi is available in two flavours:
The Razer Kishi for Android (Xbox) $99.99
The Razer Kishi for Android $79.99
The only difference between the 2 are the pictures on the three navigation buttons.
Android has Home, back arrow, forward arrow. Xbox has Xbox Home, View and Options.
These buttons however do exactly the same thing and the rest of the Kishi is identical. So really it's only worth picking up the Xbox version if your are a die hard Microsoft fan or someone that can't process button iconography.
If you're around the Asian Taobao catchment area you can pick one up for the equivalent of $60.
Please feel free to leave a comment or email me Ashraa@eNRD.cc if you have any questions and I'll add the info and update the review.
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