Maneater

Maneater is a weirdly entertaining game that gets boring too fast before it can achieve true fun.

Considering the largely uncharted waters (sorry) of the shark simulator genre, it is hard to fault Maneater for its flaws. On the other hand, open world design has been a staple of gaming for over a decade and it is a shame to see such repetitive quest design. Along with a few too many claustrophobic environments, I have a hard time giving Maneater a blanket recommendation. That being said, I had a lot of fun playing it, and I think there is a lot to like if you can deal with a few annoyances.

We were expecting a mindless bloodthirsty human-devouring shore-jumping crazy shark experience and we just got that. And while it struggles to keep you interested after the initial hours, those are some moments you will hardly forget.

Maneater is not a perfect game. It can be just a bit unbalanced, and you can start to see the gameplay seams on extended play sessions, but that doesn’t stop it from being a hell of a lot of fun. Maneater is simply worth your time, blemishes and all.

Maneater proves to be a good outlet if you want to feel powerful and reign supreme underwater by terrorizing and devouring humans. The fauna is very well represented and animated, but too much information spoils the charming graphics, and the camera sometimes tends to affect the clarity. The somewhat repetitive aspect of the title is compensated by regions and enemies that are regularly renewed, as well as by an offbeat and mischievous humor.

If you were rooting for the shark in Jaws, Maneater is the game for you. Tripwire Interactive delivers a game that makes you feel like an unstoppable underwater menace, to the point where you remain absurdly overpowered throughout its duration. It’s simple, fun, and effective, succeeding in what it set out to do despite not offering much more aside from that. This isn’t a summer blockbuster, but it’s a bloody enjoyable popcorn flick.

Maneater may not be as enthralling as the Nelly Furtado song, but it’ll certainly make you work hard and make you want all her love because the game’s snarky personality does make you want to continue playing all the same. I’d personally wait until it goes on sale, but whenever you do purchase Maneater, I’m certain you’ll have a whale of a time.

It’s absolutely fun to play as mutant Jaws on steroids! Maneater chews the metaphorical scenery as often as it has you devouring humans and the diverse aquatic inhabitants of the Gulf of Mexico, and that’s some good dumb entertainment – for a while. But if you’re wondering whether its shallow combat and simplistic upgrades can sustain that excitement for the roughly 15 hours it takes to become a hulking megashark and reach the end of its uninspired satirical revenge story… it cannot.

Maneater squanders some of its potential, but it's perfect for a rainy weekend when you're craving something original.

Maneater is a game that could have been good but was too obsessed with forcing players to interact with its low points to make its high points shine.

Quotation forthcoming.

It's just a shame the journey from infant to megashark isn't populated with a wider variety of activities. Like Hooper said, sharks just swim and eat, and that's unfortunately not enough to fill even a short action-RPG like Maneater.

Whether you enjoy it depends on your expectations. Maneater is trash. It makes no secret of it. The game is not pretty, it is not very varied or complex. But at least you're a shark. And eats people. And alligators. And other sharks. And everything at all. So the game does exactly what it says in the description. If that appeals to you, go ahead! Otherwise you can safely ignore the part.

Maneater is an enjoyable action-RPG whose best moments are overshadowed by its bog standard open-world design and lack of variety in missions and enemies.

Maneater is a delirious and fun experience for the first few hours. But quickly you'll get a bit bored repeating the same thing over and over again.

The repetitive game design was partly on my laces, but I could have closed my eyes and pulled out a 7. However, the technical quirks are too pronounced for this and annoy a few short gaming sessions. If you like the Sharknado parts or other shark Schlockbuster, you do not have to delete Maneater from your wish list, but you should be able to overlook some shortcomings and definitely wait for a few patches.

Maneater is in some ways a spiritual successor to Jaws Unleashed, so if you're a die-hard fan of that old cult hit, this is definitely up your creek. The game boasts beautiful environments and a compelling combat system which work really well hand in hand. The story in some ways feels as if it exists just for the sake of it, however - it doesn't seem to add a great deal as the game progresses, other than to explain the origin of the baby bull shark at the start. Maneater makes for an interesting addition to the action-RPG genre, and is one that is sure to capture the imagination of adventurous aquatic gamers, if only for a few hours of undersea fun.

Maneater can be entertaining, but it's extremely short and repetitive, with practically no story missions or unique activities.

Whether you have to consume 10 bass or 10 human beings to level up, the basic gameplay loop stays exactly the same. [Issue#246, p.52]

Developer Tripwire Interactive deserves props for simply running with an unusual premise as this and trying its best to make it work. Sadly, the execution is lacking and no matter how fun devouring hunting parties and unlocking new evolutions is in the beginning, its core gameplay loop becomes dull way before its relatively short campaign comes to a close. There’s some fun to be had in short bursts, but they’re spread out too far to leave a lasting impression. Maneater’s premise remains the only thing that stands out, painting it as a largely forgettable experience.

Plenty to sink your teeth into, then, but for a game where you play as a shark, we expected more bite. [Issue#347, p.107]