The Herman Miller X Logitech Embody gaming chair is a coming together of two great powerhouses from their respective spheres. Herman Miller's premium approach to furniture blends with Logitech's gaming input to create this augmented version of the Embody, specifically designed for gamers.
It has a distinctive look, all the pedigree and sublime DNA you could ask for, posture and comfort augmentations coming out of its wazoo, and a price tag to match. However, it might just be the best gaming chair we've ever tested. Let me explain why that's the case.
Assembly & Design
The first part of this subsection should be easy: there is no construction. Zero assembly is required. The Embody just rolls straight out of a (massive) box, ready to go, primed for your person. This is a relief in the sense that the chair's success doesn't rely on the ability to securely fasten bits of it together, allowing obvious weak points to emerge. It also shows confidence in the design of the chair; it's in its optimal shape and condition straight out of the box.
Once it's free of its cardboard case, you can then take in the full size and design of the Embody. In truth, the gaming-focused changes from the regular Embody and Logitech's tangible input are not enormous. If it isn't broken, why fix it? There are some stylish Logitech flourishes adorning the chair in terms of the Logitech-blue accenting, a tag, and a motif on the back of the chair, but not much more. The material is breathable and soft too, which is also an enhancement, albeit a minor one, and makes for a smart look.
But I must say, I am very taken with the design. In my eyes, it channels the spirit of Isaac's engineer suit from Dead Space. The Logitech blue color that appears on this variant (there is a straight-up black version of the chair as well) is reminiscent of the life-colour of Isaac's suit, and the structure of the chair with its main spine and off-shooting ribs bears that semi-industrial look the suit had too. It's awesome.
Elsewhere, the Embody has a nice wide base that's a bit wider than most gaming chairs. This is only a slight difference, but it inspired a bit more confidence - weight is spread out more and thus any potential roll is mitigated against.
Still, a design elephant in the room for some folks might be that this is a short chair. There's no dedicated headrest or wrap-around wings for your shoulders on the Embody. As a taller person, I was a little apprehensive of this at first, but my fears were soon allayed.
Adjustability, Comfort, & Performance
Of course, the incredibly deliberate and nuanced design of the chair has got ergonomics at its forefront and this does manifest in one of the comfiest seats I have ever had the pleasure of using. But there's more to it than just making a premium chair comfy through softness or cushioning.
That spine and rib structure is crucial to the chair's ergonomics and enables the chair to mould to your back no matter how you sit. This is excellent. It really is some of the finest back support I've experienced - worry over the lack of headrest dissipates very quickly once you're settling into the Embody. Your back is always supported; if you slightly shift in any way, the chair's back shifts with you. The back support tension can be stiffened to give you a more upright position and firm back as well, or loosened to give more flexibility.
Sure, the armrests are not 'four dimensional' as other brands like to state. In fact, they are rather simple - and perhaps too simple. These go up and down, in and out. That's it. There are no extra axes of movement which may irk some looking for total customisation, but I have been totally satisfied with them. As armrests go, they are really quite comfortable.
Elsewhere we find the standard up and down movement, which is initiated by the flick of a small Logitech-blue trigger, handles for the seat's depth (which essentially rolls out or rolls up extra chair on the seat, which is a very cool design solution), and a lever to set the amount of recline. These are all intuitive and easy to use, though the seat-depth setting did take some getting used to.
Still, going from my Razer Iskur to the Embody has taken a bit of getting used to. I'd go as far as saying that my back felt a little weird in the first few days of testing and using the Embody. But, equally, whenever I got up from the chair during this phase, my back felt 'stronger', for lack of a better term. For me, this is clearly just fixing bad habits of my previous sitting form and has helped me regain some back strength through better posture. (The feeling was akin to that of doing exercise and working on muscles that you haven't worked in a while.) It's also very much highlighted the difference between the Embody and a traditional gaming chair which can (but not always) push your shoulders, and thus you, forward. When gaming at a desk, at one of the best gaming PCs (in the shape of the ASUS GA15 in my case), I cannot stress how much the posture-improving aspects of the Embody have helped me.
And that was just with a 'normal' desk. The Embody will naturally go with one of the best gaming desks beautifully. In fact, it's clearly been designed with Herman Miller's own gaming desk (another Logitech collaboration) the Nevi, which shares some similar design cues. The Nevi has the potential to be a premium contender for best standing desk, and rolling an Embody underneath it creates a setup that would be hard to beat.
However, it's worth noting that if you do game at an electric desk, one with a motor that can bring the surface right down, then the Embody could even be a supreme gaming chair for PS4, PS5, or Xbox. It could do it all.
And that is highlighted by the fact that the seat of the Embody is the comfiest I have ever sat in. Seriously, my posterior has never been treated better. It is a vast improvement. I can't exaggerate this.
Just a quick note to end on, though - while you can rock back in it quite nicely, I would say it promotes an upright posture heavily. So if you really are looking for something to go full slouch in, then the Embody probably isn't the one for you.
Overall - should you buy it?
The Herman Miller X Logitech G Embody Gaming Chair is simultaneously a very complex and complicated chair, and also a very simple one. It's complex in the undeniable roots of its design and ergonomic focus, but it's also simple in its straightforward adjustments and downright comfort.
However, the price is undeniably high. At the $1,500 / £1,300 mark (there or thereabouts), you could buy several SecretLab chairs. Or one of the best gaming laptops. Or a seriously good contender for best gaming monitor or best gaming TV. I could go on. Concentrating on the lengthy 12-year warranty will help mitigate this, but still.
Spending this much money on a gaming chair in 2022 is a hard thing to be completely binary about - this will be one of the most subjective gaming purchase decisions one can make, due to the amount of money involved. However, for me, the Embody has taught me that investing in ergonomics is a seriously worthwhile endeavour if you can do it, and it has made me rethink my entire gaming setup. It could just be all the gaming chair that you'll ever, ever need.
How we tested the Herman Miller X Logitech G Embody Gaming Chair
I tested the Herman Miller X Logitech G Embody chair mainly by adopting it as my go-to everyday chair for work and PC play. Therefore I was using the chair for many hours a day. I made sure to test the chair in a variety of scenarios at my desk, from gaming to watching streams and entertainment, to maintaining an upright posture while working to get a spread of how it behaves across multiple uses.
Across the weeks of testing, being able to use the Herman Miller X Logitech G Embody chair at home part of the week and shifting to the Razer Iskur when in our office ensured I had a good reference point, too.
