This gaudy Ghost Face Cosmetic isn't helping Hunt: Showdown1896 players escape the feeling that corporate crossover creep

In recent months, Hunt: Showdown has been going through a lot. Despite releasing a new map in August, and maintaining a fairly healthy playerbase on Steam. Its UI update, criticised for its bad controls and confusing layouts, as well as its prominent store tab, saw its score tank to the tune 10,000 negative reviews in August.

Some people complained that Hunt: Showdown 1896's interface was becoming grotty, and the microtransactions were ruining the Wild West feel. It's not a trend that surprises me (maintaining live service games is notoriously difficult), but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

We've written about it before. It's something we've written about before. Call of Duty has its own modern artistic direction but Nicki Minaj also appears in the game. It's hard to immerse yourself in a world that artists have worked so hard to create.

Crytek's first Scream crossover bundle, featuring Ghost Face, is now available in Hunt: Showdown 1896. The awkward pairing sent the game's Subreddit into frenzy. In a Reddit post that was highly rated, a mourner declared, "Today, Hunt died." "I cannot think a different IP which has less to do Hunt."

"The first time in recent months I agree with this subs mob angry is this," says a newly radicalised player. "They are f*cking the vibes." Never mess with the vibes. There have been some hilarious shitpostings around the topic, which is always positive.

New Dlc is out! HuntShowdown - New DLC out!

New Compound Boss?? New Compound Boss??

Steam reviews aren’t doing much better. Recent reviews have remained "Mixed", and don't look to improve anytime soon. One reviewer wrote: "Not only the pace of the games has been changed, but also the character of the games." I'm out." Another says: "It is Ghostface from [Scream]... A character from 1990s in a 1895/6 game."

I have to admit, Hunt: Showdown fans, the skin looks out of place. This iconic mask is associated with cheap halloween costumes and candy-laden children knocking on your door. Hunt's version is clearly period-appropriate. However, the designers have struggled to make the IP recognisable. It looks like someone fell through a Hot Topic store and landed in alt-history.

It seems the lesson here is that you have to stick to your lane unless you are comfortable with eroding a game's visual identities (like Call of Duty, which can just throw in goddamn Groot). Dead by Daylight, which is a horror game and movie crossover, is a good example. D&D Vecna is a little out of the ordinary, but eh he's still a lich and looks like a dead zombie. The Entity is a clever way to justify their presence, as it brings in murderers beyond the void just to frighten people. Hunt: Showdown, 1896, unfortunately, doesn't have this luxury.