Review: Cooler Master x D-Box Motion 1

One of my golden childhood memories is playing in an arcade cabinet that moved for the very first time. It was the late ’80s, and Sega’s downright weird Space Harrier shook me around as I dodged dragons and fired at robots. It swallowed all my pocket money that summer. I felt that same electric anticipation as I unboxed the Cooler Master Motion 1 Gaming Chair, which promises immersive movement and vibrations to enhance your PC gaming.

After an initial burst of feeling faintly ridiculous as I rocked back and forth in my home office, I felt a silly grin come to my face. I haven't felt racing thrills like that since the last time I was in an arcade. It’s quirky and awkward, only works well with a handful of games, and costs more than you want to spend on a chair, but gamers seeking a jolt of adrenaline will find it here.

Photograph: Cooler Master

The Motion 1 Gaming Chair comes in three parts that are easy to assemble, though you might want some help lifting it out of the box. The heavy base section lights up underneath and you plug the power cable into it, then hook up the USB connection to your PC. There is cable management, but you must be careful not to pull on or roll over a cable when you get up.

Once assembled, it looks like a pretty typical, if slightly chunky, gaming chair with an open bucket seat style. The foam base is quite comfortable, and you can adjust the seat height, lock the tilt on or off, and adjust the height of the armrests. Magnetic pillows are easy to position for your head and lumbar support. I am 6'1" and made it work, but it likely won’t be comfortable for taller folks.

Motion 1 was developed in partnership with D-Box, and you need to install lots of software and sign up for your included subscription to the D-Box library. This is where you find the profiles for games and other content encoded to work with the chair. But you must own or have access to the games, movies, or shows listed. You get a digital copy of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla with the chair, but that’s it.

The Cooler Master app runs you through the setup process, but the D-Box HaptiSync app is what you use when you run the chair. You can choose your mode in the HaptiSync app and open the Game Center to install the encoded game profiles (it helpfully highlights any games you have installed). There are more than 100 AAA games encoded so far, and the vast majority are driving game series (DiRT, F1, Need for Speed, and World Rally), but there are a few flight sims in there (Flight Simulator, IL-2, Lockheed, X-Plane), and a handful of other games (Skyrim Special Edition).

The process varies from title to title, but I had to install the profile, run the game, and then tab out and launch the game profile in the D-Box Game Center to play Forza Horizon 5. Then there were special instructions detailing settings I had to change in the game menu. While it was clearly explained, the process could be smoother.

Photograph: Cooler Master

During my first week with the chair, I mostly played Forza Horizon 5. It is the kind of game the Motion 1 is tailor-made for. You lean into the curves, feel the rumble of bumpy terrain, and brace for the rush of acceleration. You are also buffeted and jolted by every collision and crash. It’s thrilling, and it gets your adrenaline pumping. This is no simple four-way tilt and rumble. The haptic effects are varied, and the movements are precise. You can feel the difference between surfaces under your tires, and it delivers a convincing sensation of speed.

When you’re in the mood, the Motion 1 is great fun, but I also found it quite tiring. Crazy maneuvers can leave you feeling nauseous. I enjoyed it for an hour or two, then was ready for a break. Your mileage may vary.

The Motion 1 chair is not just about gaming. It also works with D-Box’s catalog of 2,000 plus encoded movies and TV shows. It suits action and horror especially well. Watching The Batman, I felt the Riddler’s blows rain down and the rumble of the subway, and felt drawn into each scene as the chair panned subtly with the camera. The jump scares in Smile had me almost literally out of my seat. It was also fun with shows like The Mandalorian and The Bad Batch, jolting me around for explosions and blaster fire, then rearing back as ships entered hyperspace.

Photograph: Cooler Master

But this kind of constant movement can be disconcerting and distracting. I cannot see the appeal for genres like documentaries, comedies, or romance. Sometimes the rumble of the haptics is loud enough to drown out the movie you are watching, and a sudden lurch can cause spills if you are snacking. You can tweak the intensity of the vibration and motion with two sliders, but it takes some time to get a feel for what level you want.

You can use the Motion 1 chair with unsupported games, movies, and shows, but you must use the Adaptive Audio or Adaptive Gaming modes. Neither is perfect. For the audio, you link to your speakers or headphones (whatever audio-out source you are using), and it reacts to the sound. I had to reduce the intensity as it was simply too much, especially with any content with a lot of bass.

The adaptive gaming mode is better but relies on your controller or mouse and keyboard inputs. There are profiles for popular titles like CS:GO, Fortnite, GTA V, Rocket League, and a few others. I tried Doom Eternal, and while it enhanced the demon-slaying madness, it did not work as well as the encoded games I played. The adaptive gaming mode also reacts to every key press, so the chair will move when you dip into menus or tab out to type an email unless you turn it off.

The generic profiles work okay for some games. You can work through a set of tutorials to understand how to create custom profiles. It is worth the trouble if your favorite game is not listed, but set aside a decent chunk of time to get your head around it and fine-tune it.

Photograph: Cooler Master

The Cooler Master Motion 1 Gaming Chair is expensive. Part of my problem with the price is that it isn’t all that great as a chair. I’d put the comfort on par with, maybe a touch better than, something like the Secretlab Titan Evo (7/10, WIRED Recommends), which costs less than $500. The Motion 1 also lacks the adjustability of the best office chairs. You can’t move the armrests forward or turn them, and the lumbar support and headrest are just cushions. Anyone lucky enough to have a Herman Miller, Steelcase, or something similar may feel this is a comfort downgrade.

The Cooler Master Motion 1 is also not for folks who suffer from motion sickness. My wife and daughter found it a bit much. It’s a blast in small doses, but the novelty might wear off, and some of the louder rumblings and jerky movements had me wondering how gracefully it will age.

On the content front, D-Box has a range of haptic motion seats for the cinema and adds around 60 movies and 125 TV episodes annually. Because the gaming element is new, it is unclear how many more supported titles you can expect in the coming months. But there are other haptic gaming chairs on the horizon, most notably the Razer Enki Pro HyperSense, and D-Box is actively seeking more game developer and publisher relationships.

For all its cons, this gaming chair is unique right now. Flight sim and racing game junkies will love it. And when it works, it conjures the kind of childlike delight I haven’t felt in years. The Cooler Master Motion 1 Gaming Chair is available now for preorder in the United States, with shipping expected in August. The European release will follow later this year.