Review on EXCLUSIVE: FIRSTBLOOD Game Only AK510 Retro Mechanical Gaming Keyboard - PBT SP Spherical Keycaps - Classic Grey-White Matching - RGB Backlight - Brown Switches by Adrian Garcia

I have several Ajazz keyboards and mice. Satisfied enough with them, I became interested in the Ajazz AK510 Retro Mechanical Gaming Keyboard - PBT SP Spherical Keycaps - Classic Grey/White Matching - RGB Lighting - Blue Switches. The keyboard felt like a modern take on the decidedly retro Unicomp keyboards, which I like (considering the AK510 featured Cherry MX Blue knockoffs). However, it was only after the flash trade that the price dropped from the usual $80 to $68. Sale! The keyboard arrived a few days later in a plain brown box with a small case. Inside was a keyboard, a pair of protective plastic shells, a keycap puller, a pair of (terribly) symbolic red keycaps, and a tiny information booklet. The keyboard has the retro feel I was looking for. The color isn't quite right - while the dark gray looks perfect, the beige looks like it needs a bit of retro flair. That's not bad, and it's certainly less noticeable when the backlight comes through the PBT keycaps. This is another thing that caught my eye. While the keyboard looks good and even has a weight that reminds you of old keyboards, overall it seems about 10% to 15% lighter than a good PC AT keyboard. The rake angle is also disappointingly small. The keycaps are well shaped but have a suitably crumpled feel. If you're used to modern keyboards, you won't notice this. The keyswitches have a nice feel - definitely not anything like a proper spring-loaded keyboard with a curve and a little dampened for Cherry MX Blue knockoffs. Not really an issue since I'm more interested in tactile feedback anyway, but it's something you'll notice if you expect more "classic blue" behavior and characteristics. In keeping with the clean retro look, there are no superficial instructions on how to control the backlight with the FN key. To do this, you need to unfold a small multilingual reference card. It includes instructions for setting up deck and sidelight modes, enabling multimedia features, and setting up game and user modes. There doesn't appear to be a brightness switch for the backlight - it's neither dark nor bright in my opinion. I was a bit surprised that the AK510 had a plain PVC jacketed cable, but I think it fits the general theme. So, as far as I know, this isn't exactly a perfect keyboard. This keyboard would have been a bit bigger, with bigger keycaps. It will also have rows of keys offset for stadium height and longer slanted legs to set a better angle. Anyway, I will be 3D printing leg extensions that will raise the keyboard an additional 3/8 inch at the back. However, these are mostly just nitpicks, because the keyboard is really good at €68. At $80 I don't think it's that clear what you should do. It's only $20 from Unicomp! If you want a retro-style RGB keyboard, this is one of your options. It's good value for money and a good keyboard. Conditionally recommended