It’s hard to believe, but many moons ago, the idea of feeling the effects of a video game was something of a distant dream, unless you happened to have an arcade racing system in your house. Even something as simple as a vibrating controller was unheard of, at least until companies started releasing Rumble Packs and Dual Shock controllers, and then, you could finally “feel” the recoil as you pulled the trigger. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

Haptic feedback has been around for a few years as well, allowing you to feel the impact of your favourite games more accurately, but it typically means you need to wriggle your way into a vest of some description. It’s not exactly ideal when you’re sitting at a desk, but it’s great if you’re prancing around in VR. Razer’s Project Esther looked to overcome this limitation, and nine months after the concept was unveiled, the world’s first HD Haptic gaming cushion, the Razer Feyja, is available, and it comes just in time to celebrate the release of Marvel Rivals Season Two.

The cushion’s backrest and seat straps can all be adjusted, ensuring it will securely attach to a wide variety of gaming chairs, and integrated cable management keeps cables out of the way, but if you do happen to forget the Razer Freyja is connected, a quick-release mechanism prevents the power lead from over-extending and being damaged. While it does need to be connected to power during use, it can connect to your PC through a 2.4GHz Ultra-Low-Latency wireless connection, but it can also be connected to Android devices through Bluetooth and the Nexus App.

By using Audio-to-Haptic as an input source, the Razer Freyja allows you to experience feedback from any source through real-time conversion, be it music, movies, or video games, but where it really stands out is when you make use of Sensa Game Integration.

Powered by Interhaptics, developers can tune their games to provide the most immersive haptic feedback experience, and Razer’s Sensa Game Integration provides an ever-growing list of game titles for you to enjoy. The six Voice Coil Actuators provide feedback to your shoulders, mid/lower back, and thighs, allowing you to independently feel each impact, and this can be a very jarring experience when you’re not expecting it.

Razer Synapse allows you to adjust the Haptic intensity settings, either by selecting one of the six preset intensities or by incrementally adjusting each actuator independently, allowing users who may be more sensitive due to injury to still experience haptic gameplay.

There’s also a handy control panel located on the cushion as well, allowing you to make basic adjustments on the fly, so you won’t have to leave your game or pause your movie when you want to switch things up.

Razer and Marvel Rivals have also teamed up for the imminent release of Season Two, set to include full support for Sensa HD Haptics and Razer Chroma RGB. As part of the collaboration, you can unlock exclusive in-game cosmetics by indulging in some incredible gaming accessories from Razer. Specifically, Doctor Strange’s Master of Black Magic costume.

Celebrating the Hellfire Gala, an annual Krakoan event celebrating the mutant nation, players will have a chance to explore the new location with its addition to the season’s rotation, and make use of new and updated team-up abilities through the addition of two new heroes: Emma Frost and Ultron.

On top of this, players will now be able to gift eachother costumes and other in-game items, with existing skins receiving new colour options, allowing for you to express yourself more, new costumes and cosmetics through the Flower of Krakoa BattlePass, character-specific bundles, and costumes earned simply by playing or taking part in events.

This also includes earning three times the Silver reward points when playing Marvel Rivals with Razer Cortex PC, up until 5 PM PT on the 24th of April, and for those lucky enough to be in either London or New York on the 26th of April, you’ll be able to take part in head-to-head battles during Razer GameFest events.

Combining the latest updates to Marvel Rivals and Razer Sensa HD Haptics, you’ll feel everything you put your chosen characters through. You’ll feel Bruce Banner’s muscles rip through your shirt as each zone triggers to match his on-screen transformation into the Hulk, or the surge of energy burst out from your back as you take a hit from Doctor Strange. With over 600 ready-to-go effects, you’ll feel like you’re part of the action.

If you’re looking for a chance to score yourself some awesome swag, Razer are holding giveaways on their Discord channel between April 28th and May 4th. Joining will give you the chance to win an entire Razer Sensa HD bundle, including the Razer Freyja gaming cushion, the Razer Kraken V4 Pro headset, and the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro wireless controller. Following Razer or Marvel Rivals on X, formerly known as Twitter, will nab you some extra chances to win as well.

We’ve been lucky enough to sample Razer’s lineup of Sensa HD Haptic gear, including the Razer Kraken V4 Pro, which you can read about HERE, and the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro, which you can check out HERE. Our collection is now complete with the Razer Freyja – the world’s first HD Haptic gaming cushion. We can happily report that it leads to an incredibly immersive experience when the three items are combined. 

Written by: MKAU Gaming