Something that I never knew I needed from my mousepad was immersion. Most of the time, my mousepad or mat is just that; a mousepad. But we all know that if SteelSeries gets their hands on something, they’re going to add their own imaginative nuances to turn the experience on its head.

Luckily, their line of QcK Prism Cloth mousepads is no different, offering some insanely creative and fun effects to these usually static objects. Through its beautiful RGB color palette and unique offerings, these are definitely an upgrade to your everyday pad.

What’s In The Box

All you need to get started is located in the box; the QcK Prism Cloth mousepad itself. I do have to say that SteelSeries did a great job in how this pad is boxed. There’s a bunch of protective hardware to keep the pad in fantastic condition and ready to play. It’s insanely easy to set up once taken out of the box which made unrolling it and playing a breeze.

Aesthetics and Build Quality

I’ve used RGB mousepads in the past but the one thing that usually seems to be a disappointment is the lighting brightness overall. As the light source for the QcK Prism shoots throughout the mousepad, it’s a pretty gorgeous sight. It honestly took my already sick setup up a notch once I got it going. There are also a bunch of sweet features that I’ll get into more down below as well.

Build quality overall is superb! The rubber underside keeps it from sliding, the smooth topside provides slick movement, and all hardware aspects are very sturdy. I personally like the fact that the power box that the cable runs from is on the side of the pad as opposed to it being towards the top. It just makes sense for it to run down the side so that it’s out of the way.

Specs and Features

There are some really cool customization options that SteelSeries made possible with this mousepad that I did not expect to see. There are the options to design your own lighting setup via its 2 programmable illumination zones with many different patterns to choose from. You can go for two separate colors entirely or conjoin them in a way to create a single cohesive look.

Going hand in hand with the illumination customization; you also have additional resources for other effects. PrismSync allows you to sync the keyboard up with your other SteelSeries peripherals in order to create a uniform design, Discord connects to your Discord app and gives you notifications in different set colors across the trim of the pad, Audio Visualizer allows your lighting to dance to your music, and Game Sense Support provides special effects specific to the game you’re playing. While not every game is supported, there are some major titles available currently.

Gameplay

When it came to putting the mouse to the cloth, the QcK Prism delivers fantastically. The surface is incredibly smooth which lends itself greatly to precise gameplay, and the rubber base keeps it from needlessly moving around. I was given the XL size to test out and absolutely love how it blankets itself across my desk.

I’d say that my one complaint, which is the same one I seem to run into when it comes to RGB mousepads is the fact that the material binding the RGB trim to the mousepad can be slightly uncomfortable at times. It’s similar to that of a fishing line and has a habit of rubbing the wrists. It’s not the worst that I’ve experienced but I am a bit disappointed that this issue persists even with this fantastic pad.

What It Could Have Done Better

Aside from my first listed complaint is the fact that this mousepad has a strong rubber smell for the first 24 hours or so. I’d definitely suggest letting it off-gas for a bit before use. It isn’t a poison-ish smell but just a bit too strong for my liking.

Verdict

The QcK Prism Cloth mousepads offer us players some gorgeous surfaces to glide across, as well as incredibly original effects. Gamers that want to take the immersion a step forward or just enjoy extra bells and whistles would feel at home with what SteelSeries has given us here. Having a mousepad that does more than play floor mat to my gaming mouse is a welcome addition to my family of gaming peripherals.