Full Disclosure: This toy was sent to me free of charge by MotorBunny for review. My opinions are completely my own:
Do I love this toy? Absolutely. But right now, the Fluffer Playmate is a solid 3 to 4-star product. It's a powerful and genuinely fun piece of tech that delivers on its core promise of motion-based control. However, its current limitations in setup, documentation, and compatibility hold it back from being perfect.
Once the promised app update is live, this will easily be a 5-star, must-have device. If you're an early adopter who loves cutting-edge tech and can be patient with a learning curve, you'll likely enjoy it now. If you prefer a perfectly polished experience out of the box, you might want to wait for the update before diving in.
Areas for Improvement & Things to Know:
Setup Can Be Confusing:
The initial setup wasn't intuitive. I spent about 20 minutes trying to connect it through the Fluffer app, only to discover that the Fluffer Playmate currently does not connect to the app at all. It connects directly to other compatible toys. Also when pairing if you are holding your controller upright, the toy may buzz at full power non-stop, or if the controller is laying flat the toy may not do anything (which could be hard to tell if it is connected) this is normal, but it had me worried something was malfunctioning until I realized what was happening.
Controller Angle is important:
The default "off" or "low" position is when the controller is held perfectly horizontal (parallel to the floor). I naturally hold controllers at a 45-degree angle, which meant the toy was almost always running while playing. This required a conscious adjustment in how I hold it during use, Otherwise it would just hang out on medium and the Haptic feedback would be drowned out by the constant Gyroscopic feed back.
I have limited toys that work:
I own an older MotorBunny with a wireless remote. Unfortunately, that model cannot pair with the Playmate without an additional hardware attachment that I don't have. This is a crucial point everyone should check before purchasing.
Modes Are a Mystery:
Through an online video, I discovered the Playmate has multiple modes you can cycle through. However, I couldn't find any documentation in the box or on the website that explains what each mode does or how to tell which one you're in (I have not had the chance to play around and figure out what each one does).
The Positive:
This toy has potential and MotorBunny has confirmed that a future update will enable the Fluffer Playmate to connect directly to the Fluffer app. This is a game-changer. This update should:
- Allow for manual control and fine-tuning of both Haptic & Gyroscopic feed back.
- Dramatically expand compatibility to include many more toys, including my older MotorBunny model (that have the wireless App control)
- Allow for remote session, so partners or fans can use their controllers from across the web to control your toys!
RECENTLY DEBUTED AT CES IN LAS VEGAS
