DXRacer Martian XL review

A moment from 2019's Control that has always stayed with me involves a skeleton in a wig yelling at another still cursed-looking puppet, "EVERYONE WANTS THE BIG CHAIR, MEG." But when it comes to this XL edition from DX Racer, I'm not so sure.

It's not just the fact that, as a generally not small woman, my feet don't touch the ground while sitting in this gaming chair, but also the fact I'm perched atop a 5000 mAh lithium ion battery. Yes, this is a $699/£580 gaming chair offering an array of features that require a considerable amount of juice.

But before we get into all of that, let us ask the most basic question: What is it like as a regular ol' gaming chair? Well, as previously mentioned, the first thing to get out of the way is that this is not really made for me; the XL or Plus edition of the DXRacer Martian Series is intended for folks up to 180 cm tall, and is designed to support a weight of up to 125 kg. But even adjusted to my preferred tilt angle and the lowest possible chair height, my feet don't touch the floor, swinging in the air like a tiny tyrant.

To put it another way, this gaming chair is very much pitched towards someone who could easily reach the top shelf.

As for actually taking a seat, I've caught myself assuming the posture of a prawn more often than I'd like during testing, which just goes to show how important it is to not only properly adjust your gear, but to find the gaming chair that best suits you. My crustacean posture is a shame because I otherwise very much appreciate how the XL's extra wide, 59.5 cm seat ensures my buns don't feel the slightest bit claustrophobic. By most metrics, it's an exceedingly generous seat and, when I actually remember to sit against the back rest properly, it's comfortable even without the motorised lumbar support.

I was also impressed by the magnetic head rest's range of adjustability. To compare, I personally find the Secretlab Titan Evo's headrest lacks a similar amount of magnetic real estate. In other words, our top pick for the best gaming chair overall doesn't support my short-arse as well as it could, and also comes with a magnetic headrest that my clumsy-self finds far too easy to accidentally dislodge.

The DXRacer Martian XL, on the other hand, offers a roomy range of adjustability, allowing for a magnetic headrest that actually has a hope of supporting my head and neck.

Constructed with cold cure foam over a metal frame, the DXRacer Martian XL is also sturdy bit of kit—even after a questionable construction job from yours truly. While I personally prefer the bouncy resistance of a mesh chair (like the AndaSeat X-Air Pro), the cold cure foam here is definitely firm and supportive. There's no sinking feeling here.

Depending on your living space, this chair's roominess can prove a double-edged sword. Actually building the chair is fairly straightforward thanks to easy to follow visual instructions and well-labelled cables, but it's very much a two-person job due to the heft alone. For another thing, rolling this bad boy through PC Gamer towers proved a little touch-and-go, especially when attempting to navigate through a single-width doorway. If you need to shuffle this gaming chair between rooms for whatever reason, be careful you don't scrape your paint work.

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The Martian XL also offers '4D' adjustable arm rests. Rather than freely spinning around, you'll need to hold in one of the buttons along the armrest's underside to freely adjust it; the inner button near the arm rests base lets you move it side-to-side, while the one closest to your thumb lets you shift the arm rest forwards and backwards, and a metallic paddle on the arm rest's outer edge controls height. Release the button and the arm rests lock in place. This makes for sturdy arm rests not easily knocked out of position, offering consistent support across a welcomely wide surface area.

Right, it's finally time to talk about what perching atop a lithium ion battery gets you. A number of air bags beneath the backrest offer tuneable lumbar support. You can adjust this pretty finely via four directional buttons within arm's reach, below the arm rest on the right-hand side. Though I'm broadly sceptical of motorised gaming chairs, the option of truly personalised support for my creaky back goes a long way to softening my stance.

Alongside the four directional buttons, a centre button offers a massage mode where air bags all along the spine of the chair inflate to gently poke you in the back—it's perhaps the least impressive of the DXRacer Martian's motorised offerings.

Alongside this gentle prodding, you also have seat cooling and seat heating options. These are definitely a neat addition, with the warmest setting ensuring your buns will be decently toasty—best remember to take that chocolate bar out of your back pocket before you take a seat though.

If testing allowed for it, I would be interested to see whether the internal fan makes sitting in a leatherette gaming chair during the height of summer any less miserable.

This is all possible thanks to a fairly heavy-duty battery, advertised as holding about 360 hours or two weeks of charge. You can recline easily in the knowledge this chair won't need to be constantly plugged in—though I do wish the charging cable was just a little bit longer; depending on the layout of your gamer haven, the limited charging cable length may present a bit of a practical challenge as it did for me.

Last—and perhaps least—you also get LED lighting situated in the seat hinge, though this is pretty underwhelming and ultimately it feels tacked on to make the most out of DXRacer's claim that this is 'The World's First Electric Gaming Chair'.

Beyond the flashily named '4D Electric Lumbar Support,' I'm still not convinced that a lithium ion-powered throne is what was missing from my gaming life. Not everyone wants the big chair after all.

However, if you're broader and taller than I am, our top pick for larger folks is the AndaSeat Kaiser 4 XL. The DXRacer Martian XL offers just a few precious centimetres more in terms of back and seat width, but the Kaiser 4 XL is still a very spacious chair—you even get adjustable lumbar support.

A low battery won't stop you from adjusting the AndaSeat Kaiser 4 XL, as its lower back support cushion pops out to offer 4-level adjustment via a dial you can directly noodle with. On top of that, the Kaiser 4 XL enjoys even snazzier adjustable '5D' armrests and, at $580 USD/£480 GBP, this gaming seat also manages to be a good bit cheaper than the DXRacer Martian XL. Perhaps it will be the big chair for you.

Best gaming chair 2026

1. Best overall: Secretlab Titan Evo

2. Best budget: Corsair TC100 Relaxed

3. Best luxury: Herman Miller Embody

4. Best support: ThunderX3 Core

5. Best big boi: AndaSeat Kaiser 4 XL

6. Best office: ThunderX3 Flex Pro

7. Best budget office: Ikea Matchspel

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