The Crimson Hunt, a survival horror title developed and published by Farelas on Steam, features several item, inventory, and weapon glitches that can disrupt a playthrough. Players navigating Victoria and Eleanor's escape frequently run into misleading inventory prompts, lost ammunition, malfunctioning keys, and item box errors.
Understanding what causes these item bugs and how to navigate around them can prevent you from losing progress or having to restart a chapter.
The Inventory Lock Icon and Pickup Confusion
One of the most frequent item issues reported by players occurs when trying to pick up key items in the environment. A padlock icon appears directly over the item, preventing Victoria from collecting it.
While this looks like a puzzle lock or a game glitch, player reports confirm this is an unclear user interface mechanic:
- What triggers it: The padlock icon appears when your character's personal inventory slots are completely full. The game prevents the item from entering your inventory and displays a lock icon rather than an explicit "Inventory Full" text banner.
- The companion transfer conflict: Players exchanging items with Eleanor frequently experience false full notifications. In recorded gameplay, attempting to hand Eleanor healing syringes or weapons can result in a "full" rejection even when an open inventory slot is visibly available on the interface.
- Menu freeze risk: Opening the inventory screen while an enemy is engaging or attacking can trigger an input softlock where the game refuses to register cancel or back inputs, leaving Victoria trapped inside the menu while taking damage.
To resolve the padlock lockup, transfer secondary resources to Eleanor, use an open storage chest, or discard non-essential consumables before attempting to pick up the key item again.
Disappearing Ammunition and Weapon Stat Bugs
Firearms in The Crimson Hunt suffer from specific state-tracking bugs when reloading or switching weapons during combat encounters:
- Handgun and compact pistol ammo wipe: Multiple community members and reviewers report that reloading the handgun or compact pistol causes the reserve ammunition or the magazine to completely empty. In some instances, switching between a single-shot weapon like the crossbow and a handgun mistakenly caps the handgun's loaded state to one bullet or purges reserve rounds entirely.
- AK-47 text error: When inspecting the AK-47 assault rifle inside the inventory menu, the descriptive text mistakenly labels the weapon as a "pump action shotgun." While this is a localized text bug rather than a gameplay-breaking issue, it can confuse weapon categorization.
- Lost weapons after Chapter 3 boat escape: Players navigating Chapter 3 have reported that following the cutscene and chase sequence involving the giant bat on the water, all of Victoria's firearms and projectile weapons can disappear from her inventory, leaving her with only the melee knife for subsequent sections.
| Bug Type | Observed Trigger | Impact on Gameplay | Workaround / Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Padlock on quest item | Picking up keys/tools with full bags | Item cannot be picked up | Clear a slot in storage or transfer items to Eleanor |
| Ammo purge on reload | Reloading compact pistol or swapping to crossbow | Ammunition resets to 0 or 1 bullet | Avoid rapid weapon swapping during active reloads |
| Misnamed weapon | Inspecting the AK-47 in inventory | Displays "pump action shotgun" text | Cosmetic text glitch; does not alter weapon fire rate |
| Vanishing loadout | Transition after Chapter 3 giant bat chase | All firearms disappear, knife remains | Reload save before the boat sequence; dev aware |
| Storage box duplication | Giving partner a gun that was previously boxed | Gun appears in both hands and future chests | Free duplicate weapon, but risks chest desync |
Storage Chest Glitches and Disappearing Items
The storage boxes in safe rooms provide a place to stash surplus resources, but they currently present both asset duplication and item loss risks:
- Item disappearance: Forum reports indicate that items placed into storage chests can vanish when players access a different storage box further into the mansion or catacombs.
- Weapon duplication: A specific bug occurs if you store a shotgun and its ammunition in an early chest, retrieve it to equip your companion Eleanor, and later open a new storage chest down the line. Players have found an exact duplicate of the shotgun and shells waiting in the second box despite Eleanor actively carrying the original.
- Physical collision trap: Approaching the back or tight corners of an item storage box can cause the player character's collision mesh to lodge into the scenery, leaving Victoria permanently stuck and requiring a save reload.
Progression Softlocks: Broken Keys and Missing Statues
Certain key items can fail to register in story puzzles, creating hard progress blockers that prevent chapter completion:
- Bedroom key failure: Following post-launch hotfixes, players reported instances where the bedroom key failed to unlock the designated door, preventing progression and forcing a restart of the run.
- Missing statuette pieces: In the mansion puzzle sections, players have placed statuette components (such as the statuette head) onto a base, only to have the placed piece disappear from both the statue and the player's inventory without triggering the puzzle completion flag.
- Simultaneous co-op pickups: When playing split-screen or via Remote Play Together, both players attempting to interact with and pick up the same painting or key item at the exact same moment can freeze both character models in place permanently.
Eleanor AI Item Mishandling and Ammunition Drain
Managing items with an AI companion introduces specific mechanical quirks that require manual oversight:
- Catacombs flare gun drop: When Eleanor receives the flare gun in the catacombs while her inventory is full, she will not hold it in her hand. The weapon drops onto the ground with zero ammunition loaded, requiring the player to free inventory space, pick it up manually, and reload it.
- Flare ammo consumption: Unlike games where AI companions have infinite reserve ammunition, Eleanor requires physical inventory ammo to shoot. However, her combat AI does not conserve high-value rounds; if given flares, she will fire all loaded flares back-to-back into basic enemies like an automatic weapon until empty.
- Premature medkit usage: Community demo and release testers noted that Eleanor's companion script may consume a full healing syringe when missing as little as a quarter of her health bar.
To keep critical items safe, keep heavy ammunition and flares in Victoria's inventory until an encounter strictly requires Eleanor to fire, and manually manage healing items rather than leaving stacks in the AI's bag.
Workarounds for The Crimson Hunt Item Bugs
While solo developer Farelas continues releasing patches and hotfixes on Steam, players can minimize item issues by using the following habits:
- Maintain at least two empty inventory slots: Never approach quest-critical areas with completely full bags. This prevents the padlock bug on essential keys and avoids dropping companion-transferred weapons onto the floor.
- Maintain staggered manual saves: Avoid relying solely on autosaves. Keep multiple save files across different save clocks so you can roll back if a key fails to open a door or if weapons vanish after a chapter transition.
- Avoid picking up items during co-op grabs: In local split-screen or Remote Play, ensure only one player interacts with items, paintings, and levers at a time to prevent input crossover softlocks.
- Inspect Eleanor's gear before boss fights: Do not leave primary weapons or rare ammo with Eleanor unless you are actively directing her combat role, as her AI will burn through high-tier ammunition in minor fights.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is there a padlock icon over keys and quest items in The Crimson Hunt?
The padlock icon indicates that your inventory is full. Clear space by depositing items into a storage chest or trading resources with Eleanor to collect the item.
Can Eleanor use weapons if she has no ammunition in her inventory?
No. Eleanor requires physical ammunition in her inventory slots to fire weapons like the flare gun or shotgun. She does not have unlimited AI ammunition.
What should I do if weapons disappear after the boat chase in Chapter 3?
If Victoria loses her firearms after the giant bat boat scene, reload your most recent manual save prior to the sequence.
How do I stop Eleanor from wasting all my flare gun ammo?
Store flare rounds in Victoria's inventory and only transfer them to Eleanor immediately before encounters that require crowd dispersion. Her AI will rapidly fire all available flares if they remain in her bag.
