‘Post Malone’s Murder Circus’ Brings Fantastic Fun to ‘Hunt: Showdown 1896’ [Review]

For a game that’s over five years old, Hunt: Showdown has been going through a lot of changes this year. In August, there was a massive engine update that came with an additional roaming boss, a UI overhaul, and the first new map in three years. Despite some UI quirks, which have been a bit smoothed out since then, it was a great update that made an excellent game even better.

This past October, we saw the first crossover in Hunt: Showdown history with the release of a character based on Scream’s iconic Ghostface. This one felt a little weird because, while they made some stylistic changes, it didn’t really fit the setting of Hunt for me.

Last week, they launched their second crossover, an event crossover with musician Post Malone, an idea that made me even more skeptical than the Ghostface skin. But the more they revealed about the event, titled Post Malone’s Murder Circus, the cooler it seemed, and after some hands-on time with it I’m glad to say I’m having a blast.

I should get this out of the way first: I’m not super familiar with Post Malone. I’m only vaguely aware of some of his bigger hits, but after seeing him talk to the Hunt developers, it seems like he’s a pretty down to earth guy who really, really likes this game. The important thing that this event does is it’s not just the “Post Malone Event.” Instead, they came up with this fiction of the “Murder Circus,” and Malone just happens to play the central figure in it, who you can unlock as part of the battle pass. The old-timey carnival vibe fits perfectly into Hunt’s established aesthetic while still finding ways to stand out, which is a winning combination for any limited time event.

Every Bounty Hunt match, a circus-themed compound will appear somewhere on the map, full of wonderful little bonuses. Scattered about the area among various sideshow booths are the traits and equipment that you can purchase with Pledge Marks, which are earned throughout the match by killing various enemies, picking up clues, or blowing up the balloons that are all around during this event. If you want to press your luck, there’s even some fortune teller machines that will give you random traits or rare items.

In addition to some fun clown grunts, the area is guarded by a brand new enemy, a two-headed bear called Ursa Mortis. The massive beast can sense bleeding hunters and will charge at them with a deadly ferocity after deafening them with his powerful roar. This is extra dangerous as the area is full of thorny bushes that will cause bleeding if stepped on, so it’s a rough fight if you go in blind. The first time I went after him I had no idea about the thorns and was only able to kill it by the skin of my teeth. It’s great to see a brand new enemy in Hunt: Showdown, especially one that’s as visually and mechanically interesting as Ursa Mortis.

At the center of the compound is a big top tent that holds the biggest reward: The Shredder, an all-new experimental weapon that’s only available during this event. Only one of these spawns per match, and it costs five pledge marks, but it’s an extremely useful weapon that is well worth the effort. The Shredder is a fast-firing saw blade launcher that can either fire bouncing blades that ricochet off of surfaces or frag blades that explode on impact, flinging shrapnel in all directions. It’s probably a bit overpowered of a weapon compared to the rest of Hunt’s arsenal, I was able to kill a Meathead in less than ten seconds with three swifts saw blade shots, but the fact that you have to jump through so many hoops means you won’t be running into it constantly and getting completely destroyed in a way that feels unfair or unbalanced. I love having the feeling of a special weapon that everyone is chasing, so it’s exciting to see it added to Hunt’s repertoire of (mostly) grounded and realistic weapons.

In addition to the Shredder, there’s some new weapons and equipment that can be unlocked through the Murder Circus battle pass. The new Recovery Shot allows you to restore lost chunks of health, and there’s a new subsonic ammo type that is slower but quieter than standard rounds. The best new addition in my book is the Clu Ko Nu, which is a rapid fire repeating crossbow. While its effective range is a bit shorter than the standard crossbow, the fast rate of fire makes it a very effective silenced weapon in close quarters. You’ll also be able to unlock some new variations of older weapons, like the 1865 Carbine Aperture, the Krag Silencer, the Maynard Sniper Silencer, and the Silenced Sparks Pistol. Overall, it’s been one of my favorite sets of new weapons of any event in recent memory, and the Clu Ko Nu has become a regular inclusion in my loadout.

Events usually have pacts that you can pledge to that will give you access to a specific set of traits that can be purchased with Pledge Marks, but in the Murder Circus event these are appropriately called Troupes. I usually have a hard time keeping track of these during an event, but this time the traits are both interesting and thematic, making them a priority to track down each match. My favorite of the bunch is the Mystic Troupe, which grants you access to a trait called Poltergeist. This allows you to open doors and windows from a distance while in Dark Sight, giving you all sorts of opportunities for misdirection when you’re approaching an enemy hunter. Some of the other highlights are the ability to retrieve projectiles like arrows and throwing knives from a distance and an extra second of Dark Sight boost when looting a dead hunter. It’s a great set of traits, and I hope some of them stick around after the event, because I’m really starting to get attached to them.

Oftentimes events pass without me ever really taking notice of what’s unique about them. Usually I just pay attention to the battle pass and the weekly challenges, not really wrapping my head around the pacts or traits. But with Post Malone’s Murder Circus, I’m finding myself jumping in more than usual to experience all the exciting new additions. The circus compound is a delight, creating a fun, risky space that’s worth exploring, the new weapons and equipment are great, and the high stakes race to the Shredder is a fun innovation that I hope they find a way to keep around. I’m happy they took the time to create a brand new enemy with the Ursa Mortis, and I sincerely hope it sticks around after the event is over. It’s amazing how quickly my impressions turned from “this is a strange crossover” to “this is one of my favorite Hunt events ever,” but they’ve pulled it off.

If this is how they plan on doing crossover content in the future, I’m all for it.

The Post Malone’s Murder Circus event is on now in Hunt: Showdown 1896 until February 10, 2025. Hunt: Showdown 1896 is available on Steam, Xbox Series and PlayStation 5.