AndaSeat Dark Demon review: a big gaming chair built for big spaces

If you’re reading this AndaSeat Dark Demon review, then chances are you’re on the hunt for a new gaming chair to complete your setup and this one could be a contender. 

No stranger to creating purpose-built gaming chairs, AndaSeat are becoming a big name in the field. The AndaSeat Dark Demon is one of their more mid-range options, catering for both work and play, it’s a great option for your home office. It’s available in a smart all-black design, or a more playful red and black, which is the version that I tested out. 

For those looking to kit themselves out with all-new gaming peripherals, not only should you be contemplating the best gaming chair, but it’ll also be worth taking a look at everything else to go alongside it like the best gaming mouse, the best gaming keyboard, the best gaming monitor and the best gaming headset. 

AndaSeat Dark Demon review: price and availability

The AndaSeat Dark Demon sits around the mid-range point of the manufacturer’s range of gaming chairs. Available from Amazon, it will set you back $397.99 in the US, £282.20 in the UK and AU$399.99 in Australia. Be sure to take a look at the widgets for more recent pricing and retailers where you are.  

AndaSeat Dark Demon review: design and features 

Measuring 143 x 54 x 56.70cm, the AndaSeat Dark Demon is a pretty hefty gaming chair. A one-piece steel frame is used inside the main back and seat cushion for a sturdy, solid build while the compact five-star base is made from strong aluminium. Each of the cushions is made up of high-density foam and then a thin layer of memory foam for personalised comfort, covered in black and red PVC leather, with white AndaSeat logos. Other parts like the armrests and covers are made from black plastic. 

This race car style chair has a deep 'body-hugging' shape which AndaSeat claim makes it comfortable and ergonomic to use for long gaming sessions. It has a 90 to 160° reclining backrest with five options to choose from, an adjustable tilt with a locking system, 4D armrests and it comes with large memory foam neck and lumbar pillows. I’ve been putting all of these features to the test so let’s get down to it, here’s T3’s full AndaSeat Dark Demon review. 

AndaSeat Dark Demon review: package and setup  

When the chair arrived it came in a massive AndaSeat branded box weighing nearly 31kg. So if you have lots of stairs to contend with, and only you to take it up them, you may need to carry it in bits. 

Opening up the box, the chair comes in 12 different parts, including the backrest, cushion, five-star base, screw kit, head pillow, piston, dust cover, side cover, seat adjuster, armrest and universal wheel. The included instructions were detailed, taking you through setup step by step with pictures. Although possible to do assemble it alone, for me, putting it together ended up being a two-person job. It took about 45 minutes to construct with two pairs of hands. Despite being a little time-consuming, it wasn’t too difficult. 

It was just a case of placing parts together and using the included Allen key to secure the screws starting by assembling the base, attaching the armrests and backrest, then putting on the adjuster before combining it all together. Sometimes a little frustrating was the fact that it took a bit of figuring out to align the parts correctly, especially when it came to the backrest where it took quite a few goes to successfully locate the holes for the screws through the metal plates and side covers.

AndaSeat Dark Demon review: performance

Once up and running (well, sitting) the AndaSeat Dark Demon immediately feels huge. Definitely something worth bearing in mind if your gaming setup is in a small shared area. Or if you are a small person, this chair will certainly engulf you. The five star-base is surprisingly compact giving you plenty of foot space, but the seat itself is 40cm wide and 57cm deep. If you have room for it and want a big seat then perfect, if not then that could be a problem. 

Contouring your body with the racing car style, the AndaSeat Dark Demon was overall pleasant to use, although to make it even more comfortable, it’d have been nice to have a bit more cushioning in the seat. Despite that, I found the memory foam did a great job at providing support across the board. 

After adding the separate neck pillow, my head felt incredibly well supported because of its size and shape. Thanks to the clip-in elasticated straps, you can find the perfect position to suit where your head sits. The lumbar pillow on the other hand didn’t really add much comfort, if anything it made me more uncomfortable. I found it was too bulky and had a shape that made me sit awkwardly perched more towards the front of the seat, so I removed it and was much happier. That will really come down to personal preference though, some will definitely appreciate having it. Both the extra cushions sat firmly in place once attached, I didn’t find any problems with them sliding out of position as can often be the case with this style of attachment. 

Being made from PVC leather was the biggest comfort issue I found. In winter that material gets cold yet in summer it lacks breathability so you’ll definitely get a bit of back and head sweat. It also seemed to attract a lot of gunk in the seams and where the back meets the seat. Luckily though, because it’s PVC leather you can just wipe it clean. After using it for a good few weeks, I noticed that the leather suffered from a small amount of wear and tear while the plastic on the base and the side covers had picked up a few scratches.  

You can recline the chair nearly all the way back, from straight upright to lying almost flat, so you’ll definitely find your sweet spot. The max load for this seat is 200kg, it feels solid enough to take that even when fully reclined. To adjust the back the side lever is in a good location which is intuitive to find, however, it was a little clunky to use. It takes a bit of practice to find the setting you’re looking for. In contrast to this is the height adjustment lever which is placed so far back, I found it very hard to reach but once I did manage to grab it, the height adjustments feel smooth and easy. 

Moving on to the 4D armrests, they have plenty of adjustment options including side to side, forwards and backwards, up and down and you can horizontally pan them as well. Comfortable to rest your arms on, they have a bit of a spongey feel paired with a wide design. Moving them around could be a bit jolty yet it’s great to have so many options as to where to place them. The armrests can be adjusted from 32.5cm to 39.5cm high which even at their lowest setting, with the seat at the perfect height to use at my desk, they struggled to slot naturally underneath.  Truth be told, that did get a bit annoying at times, especially when it comes to typing at the computer. It also wasn’t helped by the fact that they were placed a little too far forwards as well. 

AndaSeat Dark Demon review: verdict 

To sum things up, the AndaSeat Dark Demon is a great gaming chair. Definitely designed for bigger people, it’s perfect for providing firm support, lots of room to get comfortable and a 160-degree recline. There were a few issues that cropped up like the uncomfortable lumbar cushion, a bit of wear and tear and problems with the armrests, still, that didn’t put me off. 

If you want something a bit smarter for video calls during the workday then the all-black version of the AndaSeat Dark Demon gaming chair is sure to look more appropriate than the one that I tried out. Not everyone needs that though, so if you do want a more interesting racing car look and feel to your gaming setup then the black and red will be sure to tick that box. 

AndaSeat Dark Demon review: also consider 

At the time of writing, the best gaming chair you can buy is the SecretLab Titan SoftWeave. For an eye-watering £379 / $429, it doesn’t come cheap. If that’s a little over budget for you then the Corsair T3 Rush matches up more closely in price to the AndaSeat Dark Demon, has similar features and is a very strong gaming chair. Instead of the PVC leather look, it has fabric upholstery.

Or, for something even cheaper, the BraZen Phantom Elite doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of a premium gaming chair, but it is a solid, comfortable and cool chair that comes in a few different colours. 

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