Blacklyte Athena review: Odd design decisions hold this gaming chair back from greatness

Mid-range gaming chairs have to balance a lot to reach their magic price points, and not all of them make the right sacrifices to achieve this. For instance, the Blacklyte Athena is an attractive gaming chair that is reasonably comfortable and sports some cozy materials, but a few notable missteps keep it from ranking among the best gaming chairs you can get right now.

Our Blacklyte Athena review will take a look at this aesthetically-pleasing gaming chair to see if its handsome design and easy assembly can make up for some of its glaring shortcomings.

Blacklyte Athena review: Price and availability

The Blacklyte Athena is available on the Blacklyte website for $359 at the time of writing though it normally sells for $399. It comes in both fabric and leatherette versions, with the former offering black, white, or pink colorways and the latter offering only black.

Though the Blacklyte Athena is a visually striking option in the mid-range gaming chair lineup, it's not necessarily the best bang for your buck. If your wallet can handle it, we'd recommend you snag something like the DXRacer for $100 more to score much-appreciated things like adjustable lumbar support and higher-quality armrests.

Blacklyte Athena review: Design and comfort

The first thing I noticed about the Blacklyte Athena is just how sleek it is. I was sent the fabric version in black, which the chair wears beautifully. Some grey accents on each side of the backrest and seat pan add a bit of flair, and the branding is kept pretty minimal on the front. A black strap with the company's logo runs vertically down the back of the chair and serves no purpose, but I think it looks kinda cool.

None of this is to say that the Blacklyte Athena looks super premium — its unattached lumbar cushion and strap-on headrest pillow ensure it maintains that typical sub-$400 vibe, of course. But when you combine the chair's general styling with its soft and wonderfully-stitched fabric, it definitely stands out as borderline elegant when compared to some chairs in this price range that lean heavily on that "gamery" aesthetic.

I rarely notice much in terms of a chair's wheels or wheelbase, as most of them feel similar enough that it's hardly worth paying much attention to. But the Blacklyte Athena's rubber wheels are super sensitive to any movement, meaning even minor position changes can move the chair a bit. Whether you will like this or not is entirely personal preference. Personally, it took me some time to adjust to but afterwards, I found that I actually like how effortlessly it glides around on my hardwood floors.

Less appealing is the bizarre decision to have the middle cushion of the seat pan be a distinct piece that doesn't connect to the outer part of the bucket seat. This leaves weird gaps on each side that just beg for dust, crumbs, and pet hair to gather inside. I took issue with such an odd choice on the Boulies Ninja last year, and I stand firm in saying this remains one of the worst seat pan designs a chair can possibly have.

Luckily though, the actual cushion within the seat pan is firm but very comfortable. I sat in the chair for multiple 5+ hour sessions and never experienced any numbness or fatigue. I'd even go so far as to say that, if the Blacklyte Athena didn't also sport such a mediocre lumbar cushion, it probably would've made my top 3 list for general comfort.

Unfortunately, that lumbar cushion just ain't doing it for me. I understand that it's hard to find many gaming chairs under $400 that offer adjustable lumbar support, but that just means that an included lumbar cushion should get the job done well. Sadly, this one is not only somewhat flat and uncomfortable in general, but it also doesn't have any type of strap to hold it in place. As such, I ended up removing it after feeling like I could never get it to sit quite right, leaving me with no lumbar support at all. Meh.

The headrest pillow also misses the mark by being way too firm and weirdly shaped. I could never get my head or neck to sit on it in a way that provided the right support, and when I tried reclining to relax for a bit, it felt like the pillow was pressing too hard into my cervical spine. No thanks.

The 4D armrests work fine, though I've experienced armrests on $99 store-brand gaming chairs that felt less cheap. As someone with nerve damage in my elbow and surrounding areas, I couldn't lean on these thin, poorly cushioned armrests for very long without getting some discomfort.

Cheap-feeling armrests aside, I really like the overall build quality of the Blacklyte Athena at its price point. It's a sturdy chair with materials that feel durable. And though its 3-year warranty isn't nearly as reassuring as the 5-10 warranties you'll find with many other brands, I don't get the feeling that it's something you'll need to worry too much about.

Blacklyte Athena review: What’s adjustable

The Blacklyte Athena is a mid-range gaming chair that doesn't provide a ton of adjustability beyond the most basic stuff. You can adjust the height of the chair as usual, and it reclines up to 168 degrees while maintaining excellent stability. The 4D armrests also function fine despite feeling so cheap, handling movements up and down, left and right, and in and out as expected.

However, there is no adjustable lumbar support, meaning you're stuck with the included lumbar cushion whether you like it or not. There's not even a way to secure it, either, so it has a tendency to fall over and needs to be placed back up when moving in and out of the chair. As I stated above, I never found it particularly comfortable and just took it off, but your mileage may vary.

Meanwhile, the headrest pillow is adjusted using a strap that wraps around the top of the backrest, so moving it around is a fairly effortless experience. Like the lumbar cushion, though, it never quite felt like it sits at just the right angle regardless of where it's placed, and its firmness is a bit off putting. That being said, again, your mileage may vary.

Blacklyte Athena review: Assembly

My Blacklyte Athena arrived neatly and safely packed in a nice, heavy box. The unboxing experience was a breeze, and the included instructions were very detailed and straightforward. Most notably, the chair arrives with pre-installed armrests — and if you've ever read one of my reviews, you'll know how favorably I smile upon this.

I put the Blacklyte Athena together by myself in about 15 minutes and was set for plenty of lounging and testing. I suspect that a less seasoned assembler could get things ready to go in 20 minutes or so — maybe even less with a second set of hands. Either way, it's all very simple, and the parts are all a reasonable weight that shouldn't pose a problem for most folks.

Blacklyte Athena review: Verdict

The Blacklyte Athena is a comfortable, visually appealing chair with great materials and pretty solid build quality on the whole. Unfortunately, it falls flat when it comes to features, offering up mediocre armrests, a bizarre seat pan design, and a lumbar cushion that just doesn't cut it. If you're in the market for a mid-range gaming chair, there are certainly worse options out there — but there are also considerably better ones.