The phrase 'gaming chair' often conjures images of ugly racing aesthetics and outlandish colours and flare - even a lot of the best gaming chairs are built of some of these traits - but not all gaming chairs are made for the same use. That's where something like a gaming chair for PS4, Xbox One, and inevitably the PS5 and Xbox series X when they come, such as the Brazen Serpent come in, offering console players an audio-enabled dedicated, and very comfortable console chair solution. No more sitting on a sofa far away from the television or moving a heavy lounge chair in and out of position with every play session. However, the Brazen Serpent offers more than just a gaming chair, and there's more to it than just being a chair.
Assembly, design, features & build
The Serpent is of the pedestal gaming chair family and, in essence, features a seat at a low-to-normal position with a pedestal base and a tall-ish backrest. It's a pretty pleasing design all in with a few colour options to boot and can easily hold its own in a gaming den or in a multi-use living room or lounge.
Out of the box, the Serpent is easy to assembly with it taking me only about 30-40 minutes to do it all. The main seat is one piece, and so the literal construction just requires attaching the arms, then attaching the seat to the base - bingo bango. The chair features 2.1 sound and speakers built into the design, which is neat, tidy and well-thought through. All the electrics are ready to go out of the box, too, so you only need to plug the chair in when you're ready to play.
My only small gripe is that it sounds like, unfortunately, a washer - or something - may have come loose in my review unit. Though this is not often at all, and I should stress, this has not affected the chair in any way and its design and build has stayed solid, robust, pleasing and comfortable all the while I have had and been using the chair.
Comfort, adjustability & performance
In essence, the Brazen Serpent is a great console gaming chair. I had a large gaming bean bag for gaming in my lounge before and that was doing no favours for my back in recent months, but I now have no complaints having switched to a pedestal.
I'm playing a variety of games right now, and the Serpent has proven that it's comfortable no matter what I'm doing or playing: it is comfy enough to slouch down into in relaxing moments of The Last of Us Part II cut scenes or when spending time in menus, or crafting screens; it's comfy in a 'normal' seating position during low-tension moments like open-world roaming in Watch Dogs 2; and is also a dream to perch on the edge of and sit right forward on during high-tension, action-filled moments - like some particularly tough and elongated battles in The Division 2. No matter what you play or how you sit in such a chair, you'll be comfortable as it cradles your behind and back and looks after you while you play.
There's no real adjustability, however, and that's mainly by default because of the chair's design - it folds in half for convenience and storage (though, speaking from experience, if you do leave it out and unfolded your pet cat will definitely steal it to nap on!). Elsewhere, there's no backrest adjustment or realigning you can do, but it will rock pleasantly, and the base can be adjusted a little.
The other big benefit of the Serpent is the built-in audio. After plugging in via audio jack or red and white audio cables, and giving the chair some juice from a mains supply, the speakers on either side of the backrest (so on either side of your head) and the subwoofer in the back do a surprisingly good job. They make games a bit more immersive than using the speakers of one of the best gaming TVs, or even any of the top gaming sound systems (due in part to their distance from you) but maybe not quite as good as one of the best PS4 headsets or best Xbox One headsets). This is a neat middle ground to offer, given the audio is coming out of a literal chair. Though it's probably fair to say that if you're playing shooters or online games, you'll need some dedicated audio provision from a candidate for best gaming headset, and it's a little bit annoying having to be plugged in, the audio from the Serpent made each one of the games I mention a very enjoyable experience. Having the woofer kick you in the back with a soft thud is a good surprise to get now and then too.
Overall - should you buy it?
This is a really fine gaming chair for PlayStations, Xboxs, or whatever your preference for home console is. For anyone looking for something comfortable, lounge-y, and with console gaming in mind first, then this is an easy recommendation. While it could earn this recommendation without the audio and on comfort alone, the whole package makes the chair even more attractive and it's one that's well worth the investment.
Note: This chair is only available in the UK as it stands.
