I’ve been a fan of Razer’s gaming accessories for years, but it’s admittedly not often that I think to myself “This is a good deal” when testing a new one. One of the biggest gaming hardware companies in the business has never been known for affordability, but the debut entry in a brand-new family of devices goes against the norm by being both cheap and good.
The Razer Reclusa X Mini 65% is a tiny, budget keyboard that’s aimed at everyone who’s looking for a new board, whether you’re a casual user, gamer, or keyboard enthusiast who isn’t looking to go full DIY right away. It’s compact, cute, and offers a surprisingly fantastic typing and gaming experience for the price.
8/10
Wireless
No
Backlight
Yes, per-key south-facing RGB
Media Controls
Yes, Fn shortcuts
Num Pad
No
Switch Type
Razer Orange Tactile Mechanical Switch Gen-3
Replaceable Keys
Yes
The first member in Razer’s newest family of keyboards, the Reclusa X Mini 65% is aimed at gamers and enthusiasts alike with a colorful, compact, and customizable design, an affordable price tag, and a healthy list of features and capabilities.
Pros & Cons
- Tasteful tri-tone design and great build quality
- Good out-of-box typing experience and customizability
- Plenty of software features with Razer Synapse
- Attractive pricing at $50
- No tools or macOS keys in the box
- Two switches are weirdly north-facing
- Inconsistent typing acoustics
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Price and availability
The Razer Reclusa X Mini 65% is available directly from Razer and partnered retailers for $50, which feels like an extremely fair price for this level of keyboard. In the box, you also get a premium, long, braided USB-C to USB-A cable. You won’t find any of the accessories that come with some keyboards, though, including no tool for swapping keycaps and switches, screwdriver for accessing the keyboard internals, alternative keycaps for macOS usage, or replacement switches.
It’s worth mentioning that Razer is working on a wireless HyperSpeed version of the Reclusa X Mini 65% that will boast Bluetooth/2.4GHz connectivity, magnetic Hall Effect switches, and other additional features—but pricing and release date information for that keyboard isn’t available at the time of this review.
Wireless
No
Backlight
Yes, per-key south-facing RGB
Media Controls
Yes, Fn shortcuts
Num Pad
No
Switch Type
Razer Orange Tactile Mechanical Switch Gen-3
Replaceable Keys
Yes
Wired operation
Yes, USB-C
Material
Plastic
Multi-device pairing
No
Keycaps
Double-shot ABS
Internal Sound Dampening
Dual silicone layers
Wrist rest
No
USB Passthrough
No
Polling rate
1,000Hz
Layout
65%
Adjustable Height
No
Software Customization
Razer Synapse (Snap Tap, Snap Flex, Dual Keypress Priority)
Colors
Black
Hot-swappable
Yes, 3-pin and 5-pin switches
Number of Keys
68
A tasteful design with some quirks
One of Razer’s best-looking and most affordable keyboards
A departure from the standard green-accented black designs we’re used to from Razer, the Reclusa X Mini’s multi-colored look is immediately striking. This is an ultra-compact 65% keyboard that still provides page navigation, full-sized arrows, and various Fn key shortcuts for media controls, keyboard customization, and more. I still personally prefer a 75-80% layout with a dedicated function row, but this is a very thoughtfully designed 65% keyboard.
The double-shot ABS keycaps feel as excellent as they look with a subtle matte texture, and it’s extremely easy to swap them out for any standard keycaps you buy or 3D print. Below those keycaps, you get Razer’s fantastic third-generation Orange tactile mechanical switches, which I’ve always really enjoyed typing on. You can also hot-swap those switches with any 3-pin or 5-pin mechanical alternatives. Whatever you choose, you’ll benefit from Razer’s top-notch per-key RGB lighting.
Most of the RGB lights are south-facing, which is preferred by most keyboard enthusiasts, but one quirk of the Reclusa X Mini is that the Esc and 1 keys in the upper left-hand corner are north-facing because of the USB-C port below them. If you buy this keyboard and swap out the switches, keep that in mind so you don’t accidentally damage anything.
With pre-lubricated stabilizers and two layers of sound-dampening silicone, the out-of-box typing experience is also overall very enjoyable… with a downside. Razer used a cost-effective tray mounted design that makes it super easy to access the internals and make modifications by removing the right keycaps to access the screws underneath, but stiffens the typing experience and causes inconsistent acoustics (especially for the keys around those screws). That’s common for keyboards in this price range, but worth mentioning.
In general, though, I’ve been really impressed with the build quality and refined design of this $50 keyboard, even with it being built almost entirely out of plastic.
Gaming features for a normal keyboard
Razer Synapse provides plenty of value for this budget board
Beyond the hardware, one of the Reclusa X Mini’s greatest advantages is Razer Synapse, an all-in-one app for controlling and customizing your Razer devices and peripherals. Despite being aimed at everyone beyond gamers, the Reclusa X Mini still benefits from the wide array of gaming-centric software features Razer has developed over the years.
It’s easy to remap practically all the keys, and Razer HyperShift means you can create countless Fn keyboard shortcuts beyond the ones Razer labeled (like the media controls). Customize your lighting with Razer Chroma, modify the functions of the toggle-able gaming mode, choose between maximum-consistency or maximum-performance typing and gaming optimization, take advantage of up to 1,000Hz wired polling, and set up various features like snap tap, dual-keypress priority, and snap flex that can improve your reaction times while gaming, minimize mistaken inputs, and combine multiple actions into single keys.
The latest Razer Synapse app is intuitive and performant, it’s packed with features, and it’s even available on macOS now. For a $50 keyboard, it’s a great value addition.
Should you buy the Reclusa X Mini 65% keyboard?
An honestly great option for the price
You should buy the Reclusa X Mini 65% if:
- You want a 65% keyboard with enthusiast features
- You’re interested in a gaming keyboard that doesn’t look like a gaming keyboard
- You’re on a tight budget and still want great build quality, typing action, and features
You should not buy the Reclusa X Mini 65% if:
- You want the absolute best typing acoustics
- You need dedicated media controls or a proper function row
When Razer told me about its new Reclusa keyboard family, I was surprised by two things: the colorful and eye-catching design, and the aggressively low pricing. $50 for a well-built, design-forward, wired, and modular enthusiast keyboard with per-key RGB lighting, gaming-centric features and performance, and Razer’s best mechanical switches? I’m sold.
I had some concerns going in about potential build quality—despite some small quirks, Razer quickly blew away all those concerns. My Keychron Q3 HE 8K wired keyboard I’ve been dailying may be superior in nearly every way, but it’s also over four times the price. More importantly, the Razer Reclusa X Mini has been good enough that I haven’t been eager to return to the Keychron. That’s bold praise for a budget-oriented keyboard.
8/10
Wireless
No
Backlight
Yes, per-key south-facing RGB
Media Controls
Yes, Fn shortcuts
Num Pad
No
Switch Type
Razer Orange Tactile Mechanical Switch Gen-3
Replaceable Keys
Yes
The first member in Razer’s newest family of keyboards, the Reclusa X Mini 65% is aimed at gamers and enthusiasts alike with a colorful, compact, and customizable design, an affordable price tag, and a healthy list of features and capabilities.