anda seaT Dark Demon Premium Gaming Chair review - "You deserve comfort"
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Comfort cannot be understated, especially now, when many of us are stuck indoors for long periods of time. Yes, for some of us the pandemic has been a wonderful opportunity to be reacquainted with our beds, but for others, this has just meant an exceptionally long amount of time stuck at the desk, staring at monitors, and a lot less exercise. I feel the struggle, for even though I may usually work from home regardless, I can feel my hips tighten, my waist widen, and my motivation wane with each passing day. Yes, the pandemic has taken its tolls on us all, in one way or another. Thus, comfort is essential for getting us all through these difficult times, whether it's while wrapped up in bed, or wedged between two monitors for hours on end.

But hey, even if you're not sat at your desk, you might be under a lamp for reading a traditional book - you know, the ones made of paper. You might have a preferred nook to hide away in while playing Nintendo Switch and mobile games. It might just be that you like pulling a chair up to the TV to get a bit closer to the action when playing an intense shooter. Regardless of what motivates you, a good chair will benefit any and all of these situations, and I am pleased to report that the anda seaT Dark Demon premium gaming chair is an excellent choice for all of these situations.

My neck, my back

I am usually very active. I used to go to the gym up to five times per week, work out for more than an hour each time, and then settle back at home to work. With the pandemic, I have been sat at home for months, and in that time comfort has become more important to me than ever before. I have always used multiple pillows to support my back during work and play while sitting around, but the constant hassle of repositioning cushions and shifting around so my back stays comfortable while my posture stays proper is a frustration. And without it, I would be suffering from mild back pain in a matter of minutes. Thank goodness the Dark Demon chair from anda seaT does so much to alleviate that stress.

The Dark Demon is, by all accounts, a pretty typically designed gaming chair. It has a similar form factor compared to many racing-style gaming chairs and is made of the same kind of high-quality PVC leather material you would expect from those chairs, too. The design aesthetics have a clear throughline to anda seaT's background making racing chairs for car manufacturers such as BMW and Mercedes Benz, and for the purposes of designing a comfortable and stylish office chair, these credentials are pitch-perfect. The chair looks striking to see, whether that's when guests enter the house, or when you're showing off your new throne on stream, but still understated enough to not look out of place or gaudy. At least, this is the case for the all-black version of the chair, which a little more "quiet" than the version with red-accents.

The removable headrest and lumbar pillow are going to be divisive for some users of the chair, but I'll say this: give it a good, honest try before you decide against them. There is a bit of a caveat to using them: having the backrest of the chair pulled all the way up to make the lumbar pillow and headrest incredibly uncomfortable, almost as if these two lumps are pushing you out of the chair you're trying to sit in. Pull back the lever and recline just a bit, however, and suddenly they fit your posture perfectly. When reclined ever so slightly I can suddenly sit in excellent comfort, with the one caveat being that my bald head can sweat against the PVC headrest slightly - those with hair won't have to consider this one, though…

You can easily remove each pillow as they're held on with elastic and clips, which hold them firmly in place. I did, for a while, use both pillows as support when sat on my sofa, and for that purpose, they're not too bad. As I said, I always use pillows as lumbar support when sat down anyway, and this chair just makes that process much easier. Though if there's a downside to it from my perspective, I'd say that the lumbar pillow does end up raising my shirt at the back quite often.

But all in all, if you want to be comfortable and keep your posture intact so your spine doesn't crumple in on itself, the Dark Demon's ergonomics and aesthetics are excellent to make you feel comfortable in a position where you can also either focus or relax easily. Now, what if you don't care too much about posture, and just need somewhere comfy to lounge around?

The iron throne

Unless I'm sat with a mouse and keyboard and focusing really hard on a fast-paced FPS, I like to lounge while playing games. I'm not usually here to put in my full-focus and race to be the best, I'm most often playing a singleplayer adventure and exploring, whether that's taking my time with Genshin Impact, collecting items in Pikmin 3 Deluxe, or spending far too long on my horse in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. In these moments I don't want to be locked into whatever position is best for my posture, I want to be in whichever position is most comfortable for me at that moment, and I'll be damned if the Dark Demon doesn't do a good job of delivering in those aspects, too.

One thing I must note. While sat in the Dark Demon, I had an unbearable urge to put my feet up on whatever was nearby. I mentioned that with the pillows attached reclining the chair slightly is pretty much essential, and while in this position, it's hard not to want to put your feet up on anything. A stool, a bed, another chair, a nearby person, anything. This is because it's so easy to want to rest while in this position. I did, in fact, pull up a blanket and lay it over myself, and yes, I could've easily fallen asleep in that position.

Without the pillows in place there's much more space for you to wiggle about in this Dark Demon, and I found myself pulling my legs up on it, sitting on them, crossing them, throwing one of them over the armrest while trying to get comfortable, and the nice wide-backed design of the racing-inspired seats meant I could do all of this while still feeling comfortable and support. Even while typing this with a keyboard on my lap while sitting in the chair, arm closely tucked in at my sides, the ergonomic curves of the chair and resting against my triceps, ensuring I'm never struggling to be in the comfortable working or resting position.

Luckily the chair is softly padded and comfortable all over, including a very thick layer of comfortable form at the front of the chair, so you won't have any steel digging into you while leaning forward. The weighty, sturdy metal base might get scratched but will help you feel perfectly balanced even while reclining the chair all the way back and putting your full weight down. Build quality, in general, feels top-notch, aside from one minor issue, being the armrests.

Now, these armrests are not bad, they're just not inspiring. They are "4D," meaning there are levers to raise them in height, lengthen them away from your body, push them out and in towards or away from you, and then you can also angle them to point away from or towards you. For me personally, the most comfortable position was often just to lengthen them and keep everything else at default, though it is nice to angle them slightly so you have a bit more room to pull a leg up, if you're so inclined. The problem isn't the adjustments you can make though, it's that the material on top of them is fairly stiff and hard.

It isn't hard plastic, but a hard kind of plastic foam. While is certainly could've been far worse than this, I feel that I might have a sore elbow if I happened to push my weight into it while leaning for any length of time. Though the armrests are good if you happen to have a wireless mouse and keyboard - using my lapboard combo and the TV as a monitor made for an excellent gaming experience, though not a perfect working experience. Pulling this up to a desk is always best practice.

And that's basically what this chair boils down to. It's sleek, stylish, attractive, and very comfortable, but it's also, essentially, a desk chair. A really comfortable, high-quality desk chair. If you are spending more time than you would like at a desk right now, whether that's for work, play, or both, then you owe it to yourself to ensure you're comfortable and supported while sitting there, and for that purpose, the anda seaT Dark Demon is excellent. While this is never going to give you the edge to play games like a professional streamer, it will ensure that you are feeling strong and healthy, no matter how many hours you spend sat at your desk.

anda seaT Dark Demon Premium Gaming Chair review - "You deserve comfort"

The anda seaT Dark Demon is a premium racing-style gaming chair, but ultimately, that is all it is, a high-quality desk chair. If you are spending a lot of time sitting in a chair that harms your posture, you owe it to yourself to get a chair like this and ensure you can work and play comfortably from now on.
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Dave Aubrey
Dave Aubrey
Dave is the Guides Editor at Pocket Gamer. Specialises in Nintendo, complains about them for a living.