Razer is reviving its Tartarus product range with the new Razer Tartarus V2 Pro, a gaming keypad designed to bridge the gap between controller and mouse-and-keyboard play. The original Tartarus launched all the way back in 2013 and hasn’t had any sequel or seen much support since then. But with renewed competition in the gaming keypad space from Azeron, it’s no surprise Razer wants to re-enter the best PC controller alternative race.

Much like the Azeron Keyzen and Azeron Cyborg II, the Razer Tartarus V2 Pro combines a thumbstick, palm rest, and suite of customizable keys. Paired with a mouse, it’ll give you an alternative to gaming with a traditional keyboard designed around typing, and the ability to free up your fingers from the WASD keys.

The Tartarus V2 takes things a step further than Azeron’s keypads, which are undoubtedly the go-to in the keypad market right now. The V2 Pro uses a TMR thumbstick, has an 8,000Hz polling rate, and more advanced actuation customization thanks to Razer’s Analog Optical Switch Gen 2 technology. Meanwhile, Azeron’s Keyzen, which launched last year, uses three different types of Cherry switches, but you can’t mix and match or set different actuation points for them. The Keyzen has a Hall effect stick and a 1,000Hz polling rate by comparison.

That means you can set a 0.1mm actuation distance if you like, or enjoy a maximum bottom-out depth of 4.0mm. At the same time, Razer has included Rapid Trigger Mode, which enables immediate repeat presses by resetting pressed keys instantly after their actuation point. Snap Flex is also featured, allowing different actions to be assigned to a single key’s press and release. In theory, that means you can assign four different functions to a single key press – one for halfway down, then the second half of downward travel, then both halves on the way back up.

There are a total of 31 mappable controls on the Tartarus V2 Pro, which expands the Azeron Cyborg II’s 30, but lands just shy of Keyzen’s 32. Where Azeron might have another edge is in physical customization and comfort. That brand’s keypads have always made a point of laying out their rows of keys (towers) in an ergonomic fashion that lines up with the shape of a human hand. You can also adjust their length, depth, and height. Meanwhile, on the Tartarus V2 Pro, the keypad itself has been expanded over the original, but the rows are laid out on one fixed board, and the only adjustments you can make are to the angle and length of the wrist rest.

The Azeron Keyzen can store up to six profiles, with an infinite number stored on the brand’s software. Razer’s new Tartarus can store 3 profiles you create through Synapse, each with 8 keymaps supported for 24 configurations in total. And yes, you can assign macros to each key if that’s your preferred method.

The Tartarus V2 Pro is available now and will set you back $199.99 / £199.99. While it does beat the price of Azeron’s 3D-printed keypads, it’s only available in one color, albeit with RGB lighting under the keys. Meanwhile, Azeron’s pads can be fully customized in terms of colorway.

I’m looking forward to testing the Tartarus V2 Pro out for myself to see how it compares to the Azeron experience. When I’m not testing out the latest controllers for review, I spend all my time gaming on PC with a mouse in my right hand and an Azeron Keypad under my left, so I find any newcomer, or in Razer’s case, returner, to this niche of gaming hardware to be something to celebrate.

For more on controllers, take a look at the best TMR controllers, the best Xbox Series X controllers, and the best PS5 controllers.