It is quite impressive to see the type of keyboard you can get for under $50 in 2024. There was the G.Skill KM250 RGB we saw a couple of months ago which had per-key RGB lighting, a 65% form factor, a volume wheel, and hot-swappable switches for $40 and now darkFlash adds positively with a larger 95% form factor, wireless connectivity, four colors, two switches, and hot-swappable switch sockets for $5 more. There's no backlighting of any kind here, let alone RGB, but I'd argue that makes more sense given the opaque keycaps used here anyway. I also would more likely want wireless connectivity over RGB accent lighting, especially on a keyboard which goes for a semi-custom colorway. darkFlash has a standard all-black for those who want to play it safe too, and there are three other themes who go from simple to more flashy as desired. Having replacement keycaps in the box also helps tone down the bling factor in case you want a simpler two-tone colorway.

There are certainly compromises made to hit this price point. We don't have 5-pin switch support on the hot-swap sockets, there is no backlighting on offer, no software support, no hardware customization either. The hot-swap sockets are generic as are the switches, although this isn't a bad thing in itself since they both work plenty fine. In fact, I would argue the unbranded Yellow switches used on this sample are better to type on than the Cherry MX Red switches are—the newer MX2A switches might be better competition though. Likewise, there are no dampening sheets or a volume wheel which almost feel like must-haves on keyboards released these days. You can of course go up to $80 to get a keyboard with these features although it will probably cost closer to $100, if not exceed it, to get one in the 95% form factor. Alternatively, it doesn't take long to open up the keyboard—at the risk of voiding warranty—to add in your own dampening sheets and even lube the stabilizers if desired. There are also third-party software tools allowing key mapping on the OS level if you don't care too much about latency. Knowing how much keyboard is packed for this price and how the overall experience is more than satisfactory, I am happy to acknowledge the value offered by the darkFlash GD100. Just note that it's only available in the US ANSI layout as usual, and there are clearly identical keyboards selling for the same price by others.