When creating a mouse shape, a certain degree of uncertainty is always involved. Put simply, it is impossible to accurately predict how the result of such a creative process will be received by those using the mice. Yet once in a while a company manages to release a shape that sticks with people through the years. The Spawn, Xornet, and now MM720 shape is one of these. It was a controversial shape back then, and I'm sure it'll continue to be controversial now. Still, Cooler Master has to be commended for the MM720. Not only is the MM720 a faithful recreation of a classic, it's also a rather risky release to a market that likes to play things safe. People have been clamoring for a re-release for years, but this shape no doubt isn't for everyone. Incidentally, I'm one of those people for whom the MM720 indeed is impossible to use. Its width makes it difficult for me to exert any force with my pinky, which is how I stabilize my claw grip. Having said that, I do acknowledge that this shape has its following, as well as the fact that those people are able to use it just fine. It's a shape that either works perfectly well or not at all depending on one's grip style and hand size. You just have to try it out.

Looking at how the MM720 performs, trying it out is certainly worth it. At 50 g, the MM720 is one of the lightest mice currently on the market, and coupled with the highly flexible cable and nicely gliding feet, the MM720 handles incredibly well. At the same time, Cooler Master seems to have learned their lessons from the MM710/M711: The MM720 is very solidly built, with barely any flex or creaking, and has been given an IP58 certification for dust and water resistance. All the buttons and the scroll wheel are of very high quality as well, and I can report that the main buttons are perfectly firm, with minimal side-to-side wobble. Much like recent Razer mice, the MM720 is using optical switches for the main buttons. The main benefit of optical switches is the much improved durability. Unlike traditional mechanical switches, optical switches do not develop any double-clicking due to switch degradation over time. In theory, optical switches should also provide among the lowest latency, but my testing suggests that the implementation on the MM720 isn't quite there yet. Click latency sits at around 8–10 ms relative to the SteelSeries Ikari (baseline), which is decent but hardly groundbreaking. PixArt's PMW3389 sensor, on the other hand, performs just as flawlessly as on the MM710/MM711. Much like with the MM710/MM711, a set of replacement mouse feet has also been included in the box, which is always a very welcome addition.

Of course, the MM720 supports the usual software customization options along with RGB lighting. The software for the MM720 is called MasterPlus+, which is supposed to eventually support all Cooler Master RGB product groups. As of now, this is not the case, so if you're unlucky, you may need to run MasterPlus+ alongside any older Cooler Master software suites. In terms of functionality, MasterPlus+ offers quite a bit more than most competitors, including rather uncommon features, such as angle tuning. But those features come at a price, which is RAM usage. Even though the behavior wasn't entirely consistent, MasterPlus+ tends to consume upwards of 400 MB even when minimized, which is fairly hefty. Here's to hoping such kinks will be ironed out down the road.

All in all, the case for the MM720 is pretty simple. If you happen to love the shape, the MM720 is an excellent choice. If you don't like the shape, you'll likely wonder how anybody could give this mouse anything but a thumbs down. Reflecting such extreme stances in a single verdict is impossible, but given its objectively great performance metrics, the Cooler Master MM720 gets a Recommended from me.