Party Animals, the cutesy brawler battle royale known for its cartoonish charm, is under fire for its Lunar New Year event claw machine. From January 24 to February 28, players can try their luck at grabbing Vegetable Fairy skins using in-game currencies or the premium Nemo Bucks. However, frustrated players say the machine is rigged beyond belief and practically a ‘scam.’
Most players trying out the machine report winning only after 5 to 7 attempts, some even wasted $22 for three measly skins. It’s only thanks to a built-in ‘mercy system’ where the skin essentially drops itself they could win the coveted cosmetics.
Players on social media have been vocal about this revelation, which you can watch from YouTube user Gem’s clip below. “That is 100% rigged,” Awesomedogman3 pointed out on Reddit. “You can actually see the plushies bounce off an invisible wall.”
Others also called out Party Animals‘ developers for the flawed claw machine feature, comparing it to gambling or the money-hungry arcade machines in real life.
“The new claw machine is the biggest scam ive ever seen,” wrote Moca_EV in Party Animals subreddit. “Completely wraps around [the skin] and doesn’t even pick it up AND you can just miss? absolutely insane they put this in.”
“this game could have been realy great until it became a Game as Service crap,” added Taxpor.
“I have tried about 3 times and I can’t seem to catch anything,” wrote DarkBlade700 on YouTube. “It’s rigged like real life claw machines.”
Despite its playful aesthetic aimed at younger audiences, Party Animals is now accused of exploiting its player base with harmful microtransaction systems. Many are hoping the developers address these concerns before the backlash derails their reputation. Nevertheless, lone, dissenting voices came to defend the claw machine mechanics used by Party Animals.
“This is a semi gacha system, claw machin is basically just animation,” dismisses tonysneko. “You are not gambling, you are buying a skin bundle at a fixed maximum price and it’s not that expensive.” Others also added that it could just be a bug and the pull rate is not working as intended.
Whether it’s a bug or a deliberate design, the claw machine controversy has sparked fierce reaction within the community. For now, Party Animals players are left wondering if chasing Vegetable Fairy skins is worth the frustration — or their wallets.
