How the Nanoleaf Pegboard Can Spruce Up Your Gaming Space

We go hands-on with the Nanoleaf Pegboard and Floor Lamp, plus thoughts on Borderlands 4, Henry Halfhead and more.

When it comes to smart lighting, Nanoleaf has long been a big name in the space, constantly expanding its reach to new and creative options. I’ve been able to test the company’s latest two products: the Pegboard Desk Dock and Matter Smart Multicolor Floor Lamp, and both offer up new opportunities to deck out your gaming space.

First up is the Pegboard, a creative new item that smartly builds off the company’s Blocks Combo Starter. But where those blocks placed pegs on traditional Nanoleaf squares, the Pegboard is instead a standalone compact unit that’s about 30 cm in height. On one side sits a full-faced light, but turn 180º and you’ll reveal the main event – a full pegboard that also allows your coloured light of choice to shine through each of the holes.

Nanoleaf includes two sets of pegs in the box, allowing you to hold up to two separate items on display, like a Nintendo Switch, controllers, a Steam Deck or more. They are made of plastic though, so I’d be hesitant to put too much weight on them to avoid any accidentally snapping.

Meanwhile, at the base of the unit rests a USB hub, granting access to two USB-C ports a USB-A port, which gave me extra flexibility on my desktop, which completely butchering my attempt at cable management.

In classic Nanoleaf fashion, if you ever want to tweak the colourways of the pegboard you can choose from over 16 million colours, which is frankly more options than any one person can handle, but it does allow for an insane amount of unique customisation. All it takes is simply hopping onto the company’s desktop app and away you go, although I am slightly disappointed that there’s no smartphone functionality as well, meaning you can only tweak them when your main machine is powered on.

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What’s perhaps most impressive though is the Pegboard’s screen mirroring functionality, which is a pretty neat trick for something this compact. It was always a treat for making gaming a much more immersive experience, but be warned that it won’t also work for streaming services due to copyright restrictions, which is a bit of a bummer.

The biggest hurdle for the Pegboard though is its price tag. Setting you back a smooth $104.99, this is by no means a cheap investment, especially considering you’d need to double that if you want to have one on either side of the desk.

Interestingly, the Nanoleaf Matter Smart Multicolor Floor Lamp is in many ways the polar opposite of the Pegboard. It’s a far more traditional device that is a great blend of form and function, closely resembling competitors like the Philips Hue Gradient Signe Floor Lamp, but it will only set you back a fraction of the cost (picking one up is only $149.95).

That does mean the overall finish lacks the same heft of those more expensive competitors though. By arriving in separate smaller lightweight pieces that you need to assemble, it means that it’s just not as sturdy, which means there Is a bit more wobble if you accidentally knock it. That said, the Floor Lamp is pretty quick and easy to set up – just be prepared to squash in the actual light bar a lot harder than you’ll likely be initially prepared for.

Unlike the pegboard, the floor lamp can be controlled via your smartphone app, and ties into your smart home setup of choice, meaning turning it on and off without the included control box is simple as pie. You also get the 16 million colour options here as well, meaning you can complement or contrast to your Pegboard how you please.

Combined, Nanoleaf’s two new products are a great way to give your gaming space a little pizzazz.

Also out now…

Borderlands 4 (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

After a six-year break, Borderlands is back, and for better and for worse it’s kind of still how you remember it.

That means the core loop Borderlands helped popularise remains intact for this fourth outing. Follow one of many mission markers, shoot everything in sight and loot the remains. But even though the core loop remains, you’ll be doing it in a brand new locale – Pandora having been given the boot in favour of the new land of Kairos.

But the more things change, the more they stay the same, so you’ll still be battling a typically nasty dictator named the Timekeeper who manages to keep the action trucking along nicely. Kairos’ other big hook is its navigation.

Borderlands 4 has finally gone proper open world, ditching the fast-travel stations and it dramatically improves the game’s overall pace. It’s also still a treat to mess around with the ridiculous number of guns on offer and the new leads do well to provide enough build variety.

If you were hoping for a radical redesign, Borderlands 4 you’ll likely be a tad disappointed. But saddle up for the equivalent of video game popcorn and you’ll be plenty entertained.

Henry Halfhead (PS5, Switch, PC)

If you’re looking for a small game with a twist, Henry Halfhead might be just what you’re looking for. Taking control of the titular Henry you follow his life from baby to adult, possessing all sorts of objects in the process.

It sounds quirky because it is, but there’s a delightful amount of charm in toe. A large part of that stems from the humour Henry Halfhead delivers, as you awkwardly try to pack a bag or make breakfast. Controlling each of these objects isn’t always the most seamless affair, but the wins outweigh the losses and the whole experience doesn’t drag itself out either.

Henry Halfhead might be a short affair, but with its creativity on its sleeve and  an adorable artstyle, there’s still plenty to love.