Enrich Gameplay with Advanced, Focused 3D Light Panels

3D light panels are a great way to customize your gaming setup. Easy to install, they usually come armed with a whole host of dynamic features and settings that allow you to set scenes, playlists, schedules, and timers. Most work with Alexa and Google Assistant and have music modes that react to audio to provide a full audiovisual experience.

Govee

Govee Glide Hexa Pro Light Panels

Best 3D Light Panel for a Single Adapter
$200 at Amazon

Nanoleaf Canvas WiFi Smart Gaming Lights

Best Square 3D Light Panel
$140 at Amazon

Best 3D Light Panel Overall: Nanoleaf Rhythm Edition

Josh Hendrickson / MakeUseOf

The Nanoleaf Rhythm Edition is a fine addition to any gaming room or gaming setup. This nine-piece triangular light panel kit works with Alexa and delivers mesmeric lighting effects that synchronize perfectly with your music. Up to 30 light panels can be connected to one single controller and can be arranged in any configuration. The mounting tape makes these an absolute breeze to install as well.

Using the Nanoleaf desktop app, you can use the immersive Screen Mirror feature and set your on-screen activity to reflect onto your light panels, providing you with a multisensory experience. Use the app to create scenes and playlists, set schedules, and fully customize your settings. You can even share your customized scenes or download other people’s scenes.

These Nanoleaf light panels sense audio and transform that audio into color in real time. And with 16 million colors to play with, the color animations will give any gaming setup a real bang. Although this kit does come with a pretty hefty price tag, the possibilities for customization are almost endless.

Nanoleaf Rhythm Edition Smarter Kit

Best Overall

The Nanoleaf Rhythm Edition Smarter Kit works with Alexa and can be used to fully customize your gaming setup with mesmerizing color displays that sync perfectly with your gameplay.

Pros

Loads of customization options
Immersive screen mirror is a neat feature
Layout assistant lets you try out new configurations before building them

Cons

Expensive

$250 at Amazon

Best Value 3D Light Panel: Cololight Hexagon Gaming Lights

Cololight

You get 12 hexagonal light panels with the Cololight Hexagon Gaming Lights , all controllable via Alexa and Google Assistant. Built-in pick-up modules respond to audio in the room and project light patterns across the tiles in sync with the sound.

The Cololight app provides access to 16 million customizable lights and over 71 dynamic effects, plus various brightness and speed settings. Each light bead can be individually customized via the app, enabling you to implement more dynamic light effects (there are 19 light beads per panel). Set scenes and timers or create schedules to provide a greater depth of customization.

Cololight Hexagon Gaming Lights

Best Value

The Cololight Hexagon Gaming Lights feature 12 hexagonal light panels and over 71 dynamic lighting effects that can be used to transform your gaming space.

Pros

Customize each individual light bead
Good amount of customization, including 71 dynamic effects
Hexagonal shape means you can get creative with your designs

Cons

Fewer features than some similarly priced models

$149 at Amazon

Best Premium 3D Light Panel: Govee Glide Hexagon Light Panels Ultra

Hannah Stryker / MakeUseOf

Whether you’re a streamer or just like an all-out gaming setup, there’s nothing quite like a hex-based lighting backdrop to top it off. With more power than the previous iteration, the Govee Glide Hexagon Light Panels Ultra delivers outstanding lighting alongside some really cool 3D effects.

There are more than 80 scene modes to play with via the Govee app, or you can control the Govee Glide Hexagon Light Panels Ultra using Alexa or Google Assistant. Installation is fairly straightforward, too, alongside plenty of DIY modes to create your own lighting setup. If you’re happy to fork out for these lights, you won’t be disappointed, but the initial cost is somewhat expensive.

Govee Glide Hexagon Light Panels Ultra

Best Premium

With more than 80 scene modes to play around with, the Govee Glide Hexagon Light Panels Ultra are ideal for customizing your gaming setup, and integrate seamlessly with Alexa and Google Home, too.

Pros

An upgrade over the H6061 panels
Compatible with Govee DreamView, Razer Chrome, and Govee desktop
Supports Amazon Alexa and Google

Cons

Expensive

$350 at Amazon

Best 3D Light Panel for a Single Adapter: Govee Glide Hexa Pro Light Panels

Megan Glosson / MakeUseOf

Another hexagonal offering from Govee, the Glide Hexa Pro Light Panels offers a 10-pack of light panels with a host of features for your consideration. There are 16.8 million colors for you to tinker with, plus six different music modes and 38 scene modes. These are accessible via the Govee Home app on your smartphone.

Download Razer Synapse 3 and the Govee Desktop app on your PC to deepen the experience and gain access to reactive lighting that shifts and moves in sync with whatever you’re playing. Dynamic lighting effects and impressive 3D are par for the course here, and everything can be tweaked to your satisfaction.

Customize scenes and settings, set timers, schedules, and so on, which can all be controlled via Alexa or Google Assistant. And if you’re planning on expanding your display, it’s worth knowing that you can run up to 25 Hexa Pro light panels on one adapter.

Govee Glide Hexa Pro Light Panels

Best 3D Light Panel for a Single Adapter

Choose from 38 different scene modes and connect up to 25 light panels on one adapter with the Govee Glide Hexa Pro Light Panels, and sync them with your gameplay.

Pros

Can preview designs via the app first
Extra panels mean extra options
Can be setup to react to your games in real-time

Cons

Suffers from occasional issues with adhesion
Maximum brightness can be too bright

$200 at Amazon

Best Square 3D Light Panel: Nanoleaf Canvas Smart Gaming Lights

Nanoleaf

The Nanoleaf Canvas Wi-Fi Smart Gaming Lights have square-shaped tiles, and this starter kit provides 10 for you to customize to your liking. There’s plenty to unpack here in terms of their functionality and showcasing the 16 million available colors to the fullest.

First up, the Nanoleaf Canvas offers a touch-enabled experience. Touching the light panels with your palm will cause them to react dynamically to your touch, allowing you to play touch-based games. The Nanoleaf app also allows you to create scenes, playlists, and schedules, and share scenes with the community. Voice Control is provided with Alexa or Google Assistant, and you can preview different panel layouts in the Nanoleaf app using the AR feature.

A built-in Rhythm Mode reacts in real-time to your favorite music, and an Immersive Screen Mirror mode reflects on-screen activity onto the light panels as you watch or play.

Nanoleaf Canvas WiFi Smart Gaming Lights

Best Square 3D Light Panel

$140$180 Save $40

It’s cool to be square with the Nanoleaf Canvas Wi-Fi Smart Gaming Lights. These dynamic square panels offer touch-enabled features, Alexa and Google Assistant integration, and Rhythm Mode, which syncs with your favorite music.

Pros

Touch-enabled features are a nice bonus
Advanced preview mode to test out new designs
Lots of options for customization

Cons

Very occasional connection issues

$140 at Amazon

FAQ

Q: What is a 3D light panel?

3D light panels are used by gamers to customize their gaming space. Most offer dynamic and customizable displays with smart features such as voice assistant compatibility and light displays that sync with the on-screen action in real time.

Gamers and streamers love 3D panel lights as they add some personality to your gaming setup and provide a more immersive experience while gaming.

Q: What is the advantage of a 3D light panel over an LED light strip?

The main advantage of 3D light panels over LED light strips is the amount of customization that they offer. Most include a suite of customizable and dynamic features that can be tweaked to suit any room and any kind of media.

Most 3D light panels have smart features that are far more in-depth than LED light strips, including voice assistant control, real-time audio-visual syncing, and customizable dynamic effects.

Q: How do I install light panels?

Most 3D light panels are fairly easy to install. They usually have a reusable adhesive backing to allow them to be placed on smooth surfaces or walls in whatever configuration you like.

They tend to be powered by USB, making the installation nice and simple, with a companion app that can be used to customize their appearance or for pairing with your smart assistant.

Q: Do 3D light panels work with Alexa and Google Assistant?

Yes. There are plenty of 3D light panels that work with Alexa or Google Assistant, allowing for convenient voice control of your gaming lights.

Games Able

Enrich Gameplay with Advanced, Focused 3D Light Panels