Phantom Hit / Ghost Hit

When an attack registers damage despite visually missing its target, caused by hitbox and visual representation being out of sync.

In games, this means

A phantom hit is one of the most trust-destroying events in a game. The player sees the attack miss, but takes damage anyway. This is always a hitbox-to-art alignment problem. It is particularly damaging in competitive games where it can cost matches and provoke intense negative reactions. Regular hitbox QA is essential in any combat game.