Ducky Year of The Goat – Review (Basically a Shine 5)

Conclusion.

I really wanted this Year of the Goat / Shine 5 RGB keyboard to be up to my standards, however mechanical keyboards have hit a point where you cannot rely on just the hardware alone. The Ducky Year of the Goat is a solid and brilliant looking keyboard, the LEDs are bright and there are a number of great pre-set lighting modes.

But there are a few problems, first Ducky need to seriously start thinking about a software control option for their RGB keyboards. Other brands have released software packages, granted sometimes buggy, which offer a far more intuitive level of control over lighting schemes and modes. It allows for a far quicker trial and error in profiles and it also means that people can often share the most popular setups.

Additionally the lack of a software option for configuring macros is huge misstep. On the Ducky Year of the Goat it is not a quick process and pray you do not make a mistake during the recording of one, as it requires you to start from the beginning. Which is a harsh punishment indeed.

As I finish, I am just going to mention again that I went out and bought this keyboard with my own money and full disclosure that I am also tangentially related to how Ducky came to be initially stocked in the UK. So take that as you will.

I wanted to give it more, but I am only going to give the Ducky Year of the Goat a Bronze award. Ducky if you read this, I hope you are already looking into providing a software package for future keyboards that covers my concerns. Offering only a hardware solution on a keyboard with these features is a cumbersome approach.

Positives

RGB Lighting / Macro’s / Build Quality / Improved Key caps

Negatives

Configuring Lighting Zones and Configuring Macros are extremely cumbersome