Steering wheels are a great way to add a little more realism when playing your favourite racing simulator. If you want to go the extra mile however, a gaming chair can really take you there. The Playseat Evolution-M, can make a great addition to your gaming setup and won’t take up too much space in process.
Playseat makes a nice variety of gaming style seats, mainly office and racing chairs. The office chairs Playseat makes all have a little bit of racing style to them and look great. All the racing style game seats they make come in a wide variety of styles, included licensed seats from the likes of Forza, Gran Turismo, even Top Gear, to name a few and comes in a variety of builds from a casual folding chair set up, to a full framed F1 cockpit replica.
This article will mainly focus on the Playseat Evolution-M, which is one of Playseat’s main models and comes in a decent variety of styles, especially if you are into some of the licensed versions I mentioned earlier.
Unboxing and setup
Upon receiving the Playseat Evolution-M I was surprised, it comes in a decent size box but not nearly as big as I was expecting. It was a little heavy but thankfully the box had handles so it was not totally unmanageable. After getting it home and getting it all out of the box there really wasn’t too much to put together. The main folding chair takes up the most space, with some side pieces, pedal stand and the wheel stand rounding out the bunch. It also includes all the hardware, required tools (two Allen keys and one wrench), all the hardware required for construction, plus a bag with zip ties and velcro, to help with cable management.
Hardware wise, the Playseat Evolution-M comes with about two dozen Allen key bolts, some larger plastic handled bolts, to help with easy adjustments and some extra bolts and washers to help attach any one of the variety of pedal kits you might use with this gaming chair. The manual it came with, is very straightforward and illustrated very well. At no point during my 30 minutes of build time did I get confused or miss a step.
Overall the construction of the seat is very nice and feels high quality. The chair itself is well cushioned and is covered with a synthetic leather, making it animal friendly and easy to clean, while also being very comfortable and soft to the touch. The rest of the frame is made from steel with a silver paint job, which looks sleek and actually leads to one of my only complaints that I had during the assembly. While attempting to put the chair together, many of the nuts which you attach the bolts to, are welded right onto the frame, which should make for easier home assembly, however since they were attached then painted, several of the nuts were covered in a little too much pain and required a little extra effort to get the bolts to start turning and going in properly. It’s not a huge issue, but it’s worth mentioning since it might add a few minutes when you are putting the whole thing together.
Support for all you gaming simulator needs
As easy as the Playseat Evolution-M is to set up, it’s even easier to attach your existing racing wheel and pedals. I got my Thrustmaster TMX Racing Wheel (which I reviewed here) and my T3PA Wide Pedals, attached to the Playseat Evolution-M in only a couple of minutes. The way the chair is built and the included zip ties/velcro really help to make sure all the cables can be run easily and neatly to where they are needed. It is worth noting that if you plan to use the Thrustmaster TH8A Gearbox Shifter or are going to be using your Playseat with a flight stick, you will need the Playseat Gearshift Holder Pro. The Playseat Evolution-M is compatible with all sorts of wheel, pedal and flight stick sets for Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC, from companies like Logitech, Thrustmaster, Fanatec and MadCatz.
The Playseat Evolution-M is not the smallest gaming accessory on the market but luckily it folds up and condenses, for easy storage when not in use. Unlike some of the other higher end gaming seats Playseat has to offer(such as the Playseat F1 Racing Chair), which are very big and don’t fold up. The Playseat Evolution-M’s overall size when in use or when in storage, is not that big in my opinion and if you 
have a decent sized game room, this shouldn’t take up too much space. Playseat does offer the Playseat Challenge Racing Chair, in case you wanted something a little smaller and something that can easily be stored in a closet when folded up, if space is an issue.
Final Thoughts
The Playseat Evolution-M, is a great racing chair. I have done numerous racing sessions with the chair now ranging from a single race to a 3 hour racing marathon. The chair was always comfortable no matter how long I was sitting in it. It was also easy to swap out when playing with a friend, as adjusting the pedals and wheel positions is super easy and can be done while sitting in the seat. Putting the chair together and attaching the wheel along with pedals was a total no brainer, aside from the included tools and hardware, all you really need is a clear space to work. It’s also really cool that you can get some licensed versions of this chair, to match your gaming console or racing game of preference. Even with my current set up not being ideal for use with this kind of chair, since my TV is mounted above a fireplace, which makes it a little too high, it still works great and really brings you that much more into the game. I very much enjoyed my time with the Playseat Evolution-M and if you want to take your racing games or flight simulators to the next level, this is a great way to get there, with comfort and style.
Final Score
Performance 5/5
Features 4/5
Design 5/5
Value 4/5
Overall Rating 4.5/5 (90%)
Be sure to check out my video of me assembling the Playseat Evolution-M below or check out my review for the Thrustmaster TMX Pro Racing Wheel here: Review: Thrustmaster Racing Wheels.
