We’re used to haptic feedback in game controllers, but don’t see it in many other devices. Razer put it in the Kraken V3 Pro and Kraken V4 Pro headsets, allowing them to vibrate with the on-screen action. Now, the company is adding it to chairs. The Razer Freyja ($299.99) is a haptic feedback pad that attaches to most conventional gaming and office chairs to send rumble from your thighs to your upper back. It makes games, movies, and music more immersive, but it only works with Windows and Android—and its most detailed and effective features are limited to a handful of optimized games. Unless you’re incredibly intrigued by the idea, you’re better off putting that money toward a good gaming chair that doesn’t rumble, like the $369 Cooler Master Caliber X2.
Attaching the Freyja to a Chair
The Freyja is a black pad that measures 38 by 16 inches (HW) and has soft, flat padding arranged in polygonal panels. It also features a multicolored, backlit Razer logo near the top and green stitching along the edges, giving it the unmistakable impression of a Razer gaming product. According to Razer, the Freyja is designed to be compatible with the company’s gaming chairs, such as the Enki X, Fujin Pro, and Iskur V2.
(Credit: Will Greenwald)
The Freyja should work with almost any high-back gaming chair since it’s secured to a seat via three elastic bands with quick-release buckles. I had no problem using it with a Secretlab Titan Evo Lite after adjusting the bands and ensuring the pad was properly folded against the separation between the chair back and seat.
On the pad’s left edge, you’ll find a rubber control panel with power, input, and intensity up/down buttons, along with an LED that glows green or blue, depending on the connection status. It won’t light up until you plug it in, though; a short cable extends from the pad and plugs into a separate six-foot power cable designed to safely and instantly disconnect if you accidentally roll the chair away from it.
Although the Freyja requires a power cable, it receives wireless inputs. It connects to PCs using an included 2.4GHz USB transmitter and to Android phones via Bluetooth. You can’t connect it to consoles.
(Credit: Will Greenwald)
Mind any liquid spills around the Freyja. It isn’t waterproof and is filled with circuitry and vibration motors. You shouldn’t wash it, either. Razer suggests wiping it with a damp cloth, but that’s as far as you should go.
Setting Up the Haptics
The Freyja is primarily designed for PC use, so most of its settings and game compatibility come through Razer’s Synapse and Chroma apps for Windows. Synapse, Razer’s catchall control software, handles the device connection through the USB transmitter and lets you test the different zones and adjust intensity. Chroma is Razer’s separate control software for synchronizing colored lighting across compatible Razer products and provides many haptic feedback options.
(Credit: Razer/PCMag)
Chroma is where you can choose between three presets or configure a custom profile for the Audio-to-Haptics mode, one of Freyja’s two haptics options. Audio-to-Haptics profiles set audio frequency thresholds to trigger the haptic motors. The Controlled mode, for example, makes the Freyja vibrate at 70% gain of any sound being output from 30Hz to 130Hz (the sub-bass range). Dynamic sets 70% vibration for 30Hz to 100Hz, then adds a 10% vibration for any sound between 100Hz and 200Hz (the bass range). If you want much rarer or more constant rumbling, the custom profile can load two separate cues of any range from 20Hz to 8kHz.
Audio-to-Haptics mode lets you feel the vibration from games, movies, and music. The Freyja does its best to vary and distribute vibrations across the six rumble motors, though it isn’t clear how it chooses which should activate. You can adjust the overall rumble level in Synapse for the four individual zones (upper back, lower back, left leg/seat, and right leg/seat), which is separate from the Audio-to-Haptics translation.
(Credit: Razer/PCMag)
HD Sensa is the other mode you can set in Chroma. It enables compatible games to take advantage of the pad’s multiple zones to deliver gameplay-specific feedback that won’t simply activate with every beat of the game’s soundtrack. There are just 10 compatible games, with the most notable ones being Final Fantasy XVI, Hogwarts Legacy, and Silent Hill 2. Razer lists 10 other games as “coming soon.” That’s a pretty paltry list.
Outside of the 10 compatible games, you use the Freyja in Audio-to-Haptics mode, but you have to manually switch between the two modes in Chroma. HD Sensa games won’t automatically switch to HD Sensa mode, and non-HD Sensa games won’t have any haptic feedback when in that mode. It’s easy to forget to change modes when swapping games because Audio-to-Haptics mode does work in HD Sensa games, but it isn’t nearly as effective.
Bluetooth connectivity lets you use the Audio-to-Haptics mode for any sound coming through your Android phone once you install and configure the Razer Nexus app. The concept is the same, translating your phone audio to vibrations.
(Credit: Razer/PCMag)
Can You Really Feel the Rumble?
I played a few dozen rounds of Marvel Rivals with the Freyja in Audio-to-Haptics mode. The sensors immediately reacted to the game’s audio, vibrating the pad. The vibrations varied across the different pad zones in response to different sounds, though exactly which ones and why weren’t clear. The rumble force matched the action, with the loud, growling thumps of getting killed causing the most feedback. The music and voice lines also set off the motors, albeit less than the combat sounds. I found the rumble distracting here, but fun in Palworld. So, your pleasure may vary from game to game.
I loaded Sniper Elite: Resistance to try the HD Sensa mode. It was more immersive than Audio-to-Haptics mode, but not to the extent Razer implies. The vibrations felt more precise, matching every shot I took and the returning fire I faced. When I died, I felt a rolling vibration from the upper back down to the seat, reflecting my body falling. Notably, the vibrations were separate from the game’s soundtrack. There wasn’t any rumbling in response to music, only to the fighting. This, more than any textured thumps, added to the immersiveness.
(Credit: Will Greenwald)
Since Audio-to-Haptics works with any game audio, I switched the Freyja to that mode and played some more Sniper Elite: Resistance. The vibrations felt more haphazard, with less granular effects, but loud shots were still met with strong motor bumps. The soundtrack kept the motors activated at an almost constant level, though. Tweaking the profile reduced this effect, but Audio-to-Haptics mode is intrinsically linked to all sounds from your system.
Sitting on the pad is pleasant, though it doesn’t offer your chair any improved support or ergonomics. It’s just a series of soft, flat pads that provide more give than the firm foam of most gaming chairs. It’s thin enough to feel any integrated lumbar support systems, like the ones included with the Razer Iskur V2 or the Secretlab Titan Evo. However, it feels awkward, and the upper back doesn’t lay flat if you use a separate lumbar cushion.
Verdict: The Razer Freyja Is a $300 Novelty
The Razer Freyja is a fun PC gaming accessory priced like a premium must-have peripheral. It adds haptic feedback to your games or any media you watch or listen to on your Windows PC or Android phone. However, it doesn’t perfectly match that feedback to the games unless you’re playing one of a handful of optimized titles. At $300, the Freyja costs almost as much as a Razer Enki X gaming chair and half as much as the terrific Secretlab Titan Evo. That’s a lot for a vibrating pad. If you love video game rumble, the Freyja might appeal to you. Otherwise, you’re better off putting that money toward a good keyboard, mouse, headset, or chair.
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The Bottom Line
The Razer Freyja attaches to your chair and creates haptic feedback (aka rumbling) based on what you’re playing, watching, or listening to, but it’s expensive and requires lots of software tinkering.
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About Will Greenwald
Lead Analyst, Consumer Electronics
