Govee x Evangelion Gaming Lights Collaboration Review

I have reviewed several of Govee’s innovative lighting products, and each time, I have been impressed with their quality and functionality. This time around, Govee is back with a collaboration with the Evangelion anime series. The Govee x Evangelion collab covers three light kits – the Gaming Wall Lights, Glide Y-Lights, and Gaming Light Bars – to transform your gaming battle station with an EVA-themed experience dubbed “Awaken Your Fight.” Govee sent me all three kits to see what I thought of them, and even though I’m not the biggest anime fan, I can safely say that two out of three ain’t bad.

Govee x Evangelion Gaming Lights – Specifications

Govee x Evangelion Gaming Lights – Unboxing

When I first saw the boxes, I was utterly impressed with the design. Each box has a black cover with the Nerv logo on the front and a silhouette of an EVA on the back, with additional Evangelion iconography across all surfaces. There is a thin perforated strip across the bottom of the box that is identified by the red caution hash marks found in the Nerv complex. Pulling the strip lets you unfold the cover to reveal the product box. The cover is a single piece of card stock thick paper that can be used to recover the box.

Removing the cover reveals a purple box with green accents. Like the cover, the box is adorned with Evangelion iconography and product-related information. Inside the box, each light kit is packaged in soft foam for protection. The overall presentation is well thought out and gives off the feeling of a high-quality item. Collectors will love this packaging, and the reusable cover gives them two ways to display the products.

The kits themselves contain everything you need to create a single display. The Gaming Wall Lights and Glide Y-Lights are both wall-mounted kits, while the Gaming Light Bars are short vertical towers that sit on each side of your monitor or TV. Both wall units come with Command Hook-style tape to attach the panels to the wall. Unlike many wall displays that use double-sided foam tape, the two-piece velcro tape ensures you can remove your display without damaging the wall.

The Gaming Wall Lights kit comprises six light panels and two connectors, one square and one triangle. The elements sit flush against the wall and are connected by plastic tabs. A single kit can be configured in multiple designs, and a single controller can power up to 12 light panels and 8 connectors. 

Like the Gaming Wall Lights, the 5-pack of Glide Y-Lights sit flush against the wall and use plastic tabs to link the individual panels. The Y design naturally yields a hexagonal design, but there needs to be more panels in a single kit to create a complete hexagon. Up to 20 panels can be connected to a single power cord, allowing you to create a multi-kit display if you are willing to spend several hundred dollars.

The Gaming Light Bars are a much simpler affair. The kit has two light bars that are placed on each side of your monitor. Optionally, you can use the included double-sided tape to attach the bars to the back of your monitor. The bars are connected to a Smart Controller, which is then connected to your computer via USB. The Smart Controller replaces the typical in-line controller used in the other kits and sits on your desk. A large dial allows you to control the intensity of the lighting, while additional buttons will enable you to power the kit on and off and rotate between multiple light scenes and Music Mode.

Govee x Evangelion Gaming Lights – Execution 

Each of the Govee x Evangelion kits includes elements that any fan of the anime will quickly identify. The Gaming Light Bars and Glide Y-Lights are existing Govee kits reimagined with Eva-01’s purple and green colorways and accented with additional iconography from the anime. For example, both kits bear the Eva-01 moniker and accents. The Light Bars are also emblazoned with the Evangelion logo, while the Y-Lights have an EVA-1 badge front and center.

Much more than just a rebranding, the Gaming Wall Lights are a completely new design directly influenced by Eva-01. Each light panel is a multi-element design. The LED lights are contained in the base of the purple panel. The lights are concealed behind a purple and green faceplate that mimics the EVA-01’s color scheme. Translucent sections of the faceplate allow the light to shine through, highlighting several Evangelion designs, including the Lance of Longinus, the Spear of Cassius, and an EVA-01 emblem, to name a few.

To add additional lighting, the Gaming Wall Lights have two raised light bars running down the center of each panel, symbolizing the futuristic and technological elements of Tokyo-3. The panel’s 3-D effect is further accented by a removable cover representing the Evangelion’s A.T. Field. While the Evangelion elements will be a significant selling point for anime fans, anyone unfamiliar with the base material will still find the futuristic sci-fi theming attractive.

All three light sets have Wi-Fi (2.4GHz only) and Bluetooth connectivity and can be controlled through the Govee phone app, Razer Chroma, Alexa, and Google Assistant. I find Govee’s native app very easy to use, and adding the light kits to my existing lights only took a few seconds. Just make sure you are connecting them to a 2.4GHz router.

Lighting for all three sets can be configured in a variety of ways. Like many of Govee’s other products, each light set can be configured with a single color, or you can use DIY Mode to set the color and actions of individual light segments as you see fit. The kits also support Scene Mode, Music Mode, and DreamView Mode. In Scene Mode, you can choose from dozens of preset lighting themes to quickly get your lights up and running, while Music Mode has a handful of scenes that will react to the sound collected by the controller’s built-in microphone or music playing on your app device. Finally, DreamView Mode is a way to combine all of your Govee light kits to display a unified light scene.

Final Thoughts – Two Direct Hits, One Glancing Blow

Govee is always bringing new products to market, and collaborations are a natural way to expand its RGB reach into untapped segments. However, manufacturers must perform a risky balancing act when doing so. Too much branding means you miss out on an item’s mass market appeal; too little, and you don’t engage the target niche. Regarding the Govee x Evangelion collab, all but the Y-Lights hit the mark.

If you have the wall space available, the Gaming Wall Lights are the star of the show. They cost more than Govee’s other wall lights, but there’s no doubt that they are worth the extra money. Other Govee lights, like the Neon Rope Light 2 and Hexagon Panels Ultra, are cool, but the lighting scenes have that extra pop moving across the Gaming Wall Lights. Even if you aren’t into anime or Evangelion, the Wall Lights go beyond the typical RGB effect and put off a futuristic sci-fi vibe. And if you are into Evangelion, the Eva-01 elements are the special sauce that makes this light set a must-buy.

Coming in at a close second to the Gaming Wall Lights are the Gaming Light Bars. Just like the original unbranded set of Light Bars, these look fantastic flanking your monitor and put out incredible light for their size. They are also easier to set up than the wall-mounted lights. I control multiple Govee lights in my room with the Govee app, so I don’t get much use out of the smart controller included with the game bars. But if this is your only RGB lighting, it could be handy for quick lighting adjustments. 

Of the three products, the Glide Y-Lights are the weakest offering. At $169 for a five-piece set, the number of configurations and space filled doesn’t justify the price. A maximum of 20 pieces can be linked together, and I think you’d need to have at least that many to make an appreciable design, but there are far superior options if you’re willing to spend that much money on a lighting display.