Playing a survival horror game with the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds is one of the sillier things I’ve done this month – and I’ve done a lot. Alan Wake 2‘s Lake House DLC launched right as I received these earbuds for review, and so, enthusiastic about seeing the finale to Alan Wake 2‘s story, I jumped right in.
The SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds feature rich, layered spatial audio that invites you into a virtual “360 degree” soundscape with directional noise. Alan Wake 2‘s primary enemies are slopping wads of paint that leak from artworks with a sandy trickle. They ooze and hiss and whisper at your back.
When I encountered my first one, I had to pull a GameBud out – the sound was so creepy and intimately whispery that I got the ick. It was horrifying. It was delightful.
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Audio delivery
In retrospect, a survival horror game was the best sort of game to test the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds with. Their sound delivery is intimate intentionally, as the earbuds are geared towards making games more engaging and dynamic. Hearing terrifying little footsteps on marble tiles, and feeling gunshot blasts ricocheting around an empty office room made The Lake House much scarier, and far more exciting.
No matter which game you’re playing, you can also adjust your GameBuds audio profile via a mobile and/or PC app, with this allowing for deeper bass, or a focus on dialogue, or layers of atmospheric creepiness. There’s pre-settings for a range of popular games (including Alan Wake 2), or you can set your own mood. Personally, I didn’t change the custom settings too much, as the presets worked well for me, delivering consistently clear audio for all manner of media.
Away from fantasy terrors, the Arctis GameBuds proved their exceptional sound in a multitude of ways – particularly in playing music. The earbuds have nice, bassy tones for lower notes, a crispness and clarity for individual beats, and they’re excellent at “throwing” sounds to create a wide sound sphere, with you at the centre. In 360-degree audio tests, the Arctis GameBuds performed admirably.
Playing through a gimmicky “8D” version of Billie Eilish’s ‘ilomilo’ I had to take the GameBuds out several times, because it sounded so like the song was being played out loud, rather than in-earbud. Dialogue in television shows was equally crisp and clean, with that layered directional audio adding depth to scenes.
An added touch is that these earbuds feature Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) to help block out extraneous noise in the real world. It’s not spectacular ANC and doesn’t block out everything, but you can eliminate some of those quieter, more distracting noises – a background TV blaring, bird noise, the sound of someone pounding the treadmill at the gym – for a more pleasant listening experience. Easy button touches also remove ANC, or flick on transparency mode, which allows you to chat to someone with earbuds still in, and audio still playing.
Battery life
Beyond sound, what is most striking about the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds is their impressively long battery life. These are designed as “gamer earbuds” with a view to ensure you can game for hours without needing to take breaks.
There was never a moment, while reviewing games, that I had to stop gaming to charge these buds. The quoted battery life is 10 hours once the buds leave the case, and 40 total hours held within the case. This not only proved accurate, it also proved to be more than enough. Realistically, most folks won’t be gaming for 10 hours at a time. Even if you do, you can simply put the buds back in the case afterwards for a quick charge.
After a break (short or long), the buds will be ready to go again, and you can get back to gaming without a care in the world. I’m somebody with relatively strict battery hygiene – I try to plug in and charge devices before the situation gets desperate – but I’ve found the buds simply don’t need that level of care. In two weeks of active use (for gaming, listening to music, watching TV on my laptop), I’m only now needing to charge them.
Comfort
Now, I’m a little big sensitive when it comes to earbuds – to the point where some less-ergonomically-shaped buds have caused bruising and pain in the past. The SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds are soft and forgiving, and remain comfortable even throughout hours of use. Rather than having a fin to hold them in place, like some competitors, these buds are simply designed to fit well with a smooth, shapely body.
Fit them in, slightly twist, and you’ll find the GameBuds sit neatly and securely, without the worry of them slipping out – or in the case of high winds, flying out. (This happened to me once with other earbuds, and then I had to go chasing them across a field. I looked very silly.)
Even when you’re gaming for 3-4 hours at a time, the earbuds remain comfortable – based on personal experiences, they never became sweaty or hot, and they never caused earache. You can still certainly feel them, but after a while using them, their vague pressure dulls considerably, for very pleasant long-term earfeel.
They’ve also got a nicely low profile in the ear, so if you’re planning to listen to music in bed, you can lie on your side with zero issues.
Connectivity
In all this, I did have one minor bugbear when using the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds: the stickiness of connectivity. Once I paired with a particular sound source (after some finicking with multiple button presses and Bluetooth audio mode), I had trouble switching between other sources.
I used the Arctis GameBuds with multiple devices: my phone, my computer, and my PlayStation 5 (for which these are designed). If I tried to connect the earbuds to my laptop while my phone’s Bluetooth remained on, the source simply wouldn’t switch.
It required me taking out the earbuds, putting them back in the case, reactivating Bluetooth, and then continuing as normal. Perhaps that’s me being spoiled with the Apple ecosystem, where switching happens in a pinch – but it was a noticeable challenge in my time with the earbuds. If there was an easier way to switch, it also wasn’t immediately obvious. Even using the dedicated PS5 dongle – which is wonderfully compact – still required a fair bit of button fiddling.
All that said, once you do have the earbuds connected to the correct source, you can expect that connect to be very robust. In my time with the earbuds, I’ve yet to experience disconnects or audio clipping at any point.
Regardless of whether you’re on a 2.4GHz wireless or Bluetooth 5.3 connection, you’ll have a strong tether to your source audio, and clear, consistent, and crisp sound delivery.
Final Verdict
Regardless of my personal challenges with switching sources, it’s clear SteelSeries is onto a winner here. Everything about the Arctis GameBuds works incredibly well – the design is sleek and modern, without sacrificing comfort. The sound delivery is crisp, rich, and layered, allowing for engaging audio experiences while gaming, playing music, or watching entertainment. The earbuds’ battery life is also standout, and allows for long, uninterrupted gaming sessions. That’s all before getting to the AUD $359 price tag, which is reasonable, given these hearty features, and competition in the market.
While the earbuds aren’t perfect, they’re a very strong contender in the gaming audio space and the general audio space, offering plenty for those looking for well-designed, full-featured earbuds with a mid-range budget.
Four-and-a-half stars: ★★★★½
SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds
Release Year: 2024
Manufacturer: SteelSeries
Price: AUD $359
The SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds were provided to GamesHub by SteelSeries for the purposes of this review.
