Maneater perfectly embodies the fantasy of being a super-powerful shark to great effect, even if there are some small technical issues and rough-around-the-edges gameplay decisions. It never overstays its welcome and is fun to devour a few hours here and there.
Ever so often games come around that propose a power fantasy unlike any other. For some, its the ability to be a gun-toting badass. For others, it’s being able to be whisked away to a fantasy world. And then there are games like Maneater; a game that gives you direct control of one of the scariest creatures in the world and devours everything in its path. Maneater never truly takes itself seriously, and that’s the charm of the entire experience.
Maneater is a hell of a time to play. From menacingly prowling near the surface of the water hunting your prey to making ultra-violent devouring attacks, the game never stops being an absolute joy to play. At first, I was a bit worried that, like most games, Maneater’s underwater gameplay was going to be tedious and annoying. Luckily, TripWire has been able to streamline a lot of the frustrating parts of underwater gameplay seen in previous games, since your shark is super agile in the water. Throw in GTA-like “wanted” mechanics with shark-hunters and an RPG-lite upgrade system for your shark, and you have one rip-roaring good time.
Maneater is a self-proclaimed “ShARkPG”, and it certainly lives up to the title. While making your way through the light story, you’ll unlock several upgrade organs (like better teeth and fins) to create the ultimate hunter. The coolest aspect of the leveling system though is how your shark grows in size, and what appears to be a different species of shark. I’m not the most well-versed in shark anatomy, but I don’t believe a teenage Great White looks like a nurse shark, but I digress. Maneater does an excellent job of presenting fun ways to modify your shark throughout the entirety of the game and keeps the gameplay feeling fresh with every new upgrade.
That’s not to say there aren’t some nit-picky elements that make the game frustrating in moments. There’s no lock-on option for when you’re submerged underwater, only an option to hone in on your prey. It gets pretty frustrating when you’re having to keep engaging the R3 button to focus on your prey, only to lose them moments later after you make a lunge at them.
Maneater isn’t the best looking game in the world visually, but it’s also not the worst. The environments are varied; there are crystal blue oceans and swampy bayous, but it’s not a game that is meant to be photorealistic. Human models are pretty lackluster, although their dialogue brings them new life.
My favorite part of Maneater is the style of the story and its dialogue. Told through the lens of a reality-tv docuseries akin to Deadliest Catch, so much of the dialogue throughout the story is both hilarious and perfect tone-setting. The main villain Scaley Pete is cheesy but nefarious enough for you to want to devour as many humans, hunters, and Scaley Pete’s crew as possible.
The real star is the “nature documentarian” narrator throughout the story. As you level up, complete certain missions or collect various collectibles, the cool-tone narrator will chime in with some cheesy dialogue pulled straight out of a Discovery Channel nature documentary.
Maneater perfectly embodies the fantasy of being a super-powerful shark to great effect, even if there are some small technical issues and rough-around-the-edges gameplay decisions. It never overstays its welcome and is fun to throw a few hours into here and there.
