Maneater

Maneater is a straight forward game with a novel hook (what if GTA was about a shark?) and a refusal to over complicate that idea turned it into one of the most entertaining games of the year.

Maneater’s bite comes from its stunning underwater animations, comedic notes spread throughout the game, and the fact that you get to play an entire game as a goddamn shark. There simply isn’t anything else like it, even if it does follow some of the more rote open-world playbook rules when it comes to progression and collectibles. A choppy framerate in intense sequences is really one of the only things holding the experience back, but like a fisherman without a hand—or a leg—it doesn’t stop me from heading back to the open water for more. Am I still scared of sharks? Hell yeah, more than ever, but at least now I can be scares and fascinates me.

A heck of a catch. There’s plenty below the surface: this shark RPG isn’t afraid to comment on cycles of violence and pollution, while also being a gleefully good time. [Issue#177, p.145]

Maneater is an original concept that is brave enough to weigh an entertaining premise and pro-environmental message in equal measure. An over-reliance on repetitive item collecting mires a surprisingly Hemingway-esque tale that left me more than satisfied once the credits rolled. Tripwire Interactive managed to capture the thrill of playing one of the Ocean's apex predators in a game that shouldn't be missed. We don't often see games that offer the kind of unbridled fun that Maneater does.

Maneater mixes ferocious combat, addictive exploration and great humour into a perfectly-sized open world where you play as a murderous shark. It's the game we never knew that we needed.

This is no worthy exploration of man's cruelty to the natural world, and I suspect marine biologists would have something to say about much of the science, but it's the perfect distraction from a world gone mad, and weirdly therapeutic. When you're not filling the water with blood or launching an innocent human into the air with a flick of your tail, the waters are a pretty playground, and there's always mischief to be made in the resorts, water parks, and marinas. Just don't dob me into the killer whale I sponsored when I was 12.

Although it's hindered by performance issues, Maneater allows you to gleefully live out your wildest (and perhaps bloodiest) killer shark revenge fantasies. What's more, the game's dark sense of humor means you don't have to feel guilty about the carnage that ensues.

An occasionally rough but always entertaining open world actioner that puts players in control of one of nature's greatest predators, Maneater is the over the top, human chomping odyssey that many of us never knew that we wanted. Until now.

For those craving some deliciously cheesy B-movie flavor wrapped around a concise open-world core, Maneater delivers.

Maneater is a solid first entry in a new open world RPG franchise. Repetitive missions and some fairly severe framerate issues hold the game back a bit, but overall Maneater is a good bit of summertime gaming fluff. You can't beat the feeling of chomping people at the beach, and Maneater provides just what gamers are looking for – fun carnage with just enough structure to keep players motivated.

Maneater is a game of many of many shortcomings; terrible loading screens, frightening cinematics cuts and a myriad of technical difficulties. However, the game is also extremely fun if you can overlook some of its problems.

You may be tired of open world collectathons, but Maneater bites back with more than enough novelty to make the format feel as fresh as Port Clovis’ well-populated oceans. A moreish gameplay loop with a well-designed sandbox mean there’s some-fin special here, and while it makome as a surprise, not even control and performance issues will deter you from flashing your teeth.

Issues aside, Maneater opportunities for shark chaos can be a lot of fun. The best parts of the game are akin to running around in a Grand Theft Auto game with a rocket launcher, indiscriminately wrecking everything you see as the cops come zooming in from all directions in a futile attempt to stop you. But instead of a guy running around with an arsenal of weapons, you're a monster shark launching itself 30 feet into the air, barrel-rolling straight through a boat, and plucking some screaming dork right off the bow for good measure. With the sharply written, hilariously delivered narration and story beats to freshen up the experience as you go along, Maneater becomes a goofy, fish-flopping romp, with a good balance of limbs to sever, boats to wreck, and challenging creatures to render into bite-sized chunks. Maneater isn't a perfect shark simulator, but it is a fun and funny one whose positive adaptations outpace its drawbacks.

Maneater is a good blow-off, really fun and very pleasant to take in hand. The game from Tripwire Interactive does not take itself seriously and offers a good dose of black humor and satisfying activities. The evolution system of the shark works perfectly. Nevertheless, the game quickly becomes repetitive and its lifespan lacks generosity. Too bad because it is really nice!

While Maneater has its problems, it can also be fun once you get used to the combat. However, those on the fence should wait for a patch or two before investing.

The quests are painfully repetitive, you wouldn’t also call them creative exactly. But throughout the 15 hours of gameplay the ‘one more mission syndrome’ was more than apparent. [07/2020, p.44]

Maneater is a fun RPG that sadly manages to have a lot of the same gameplay. The RPG elements of the game work well, but there is too little story and the game would be a lot better with story missions. However, eating things as a shark is fun and the open world is beautiful. There is definitely some sensation to get out of this title.

Maneater's unique perspective will keep you playing for a while, though the extremely repetitive mission design and lack of gameplay depth will eventually get on your nerves. The horrible framedrops, however, are hard to forgive.

Maneater is a unique and entertaining shark simulator that is pretty rough around the edges. The camera angles are impossible and there is so little variation in missions. Leaving it to be like many shark movies: funny and lots of entertainment value, but not really bringing its A game.

Quotation forthcoming.

It is a game that has an interesting premise and some bold ideas, with quite a few of them really working, but in the end it gets a bit boring and quite repetitive.

If the same effort would have been invested in the entire game as was in the voice acting of the narrator, Maneater would have been a mindless, but fun experience. The concept is not bad at all, the graphics look pretty decent, the night time cities being actually quite pretty, and, when it works as intended, the combat system is fun and spectacular. Unfortunately, the countless technical issues, the lack of quality content, the clumsy controls and stupid AI turn Maneater into a mediocre experience, which cannot be recommended in its current state.

Ultimately, Maneater is a passable distraction. It features a decent bit of fun with a surprisingly heartfelt plot but that's about it. With long gaps between major releases in this part of the year, Maneater will provide some entertainment for those looking to fill the void.

Maneater is very fun to play, but there is no denying that the developers failed to break from repetitiveness. It feels exciting to play as a revenge-seeking shark, but there is also a lot of wasted potential that could have made Maneater a much better game.

If the upcoming patch completely irons out the save data, framerate issues, and other technical problems then this could make for a decent bout of fun. Mindlessly chomping on fish while leveling up your shark to be even more murderous can make for an enjoyable albeit frivolous time. As of right now though, until Maneater's problems are definitively dealt with, it might be safer for players to stay out of the water.

Maneater is a crazy concept come to life, Tripwire somehow managing to cobble together a silly ShaRkPG that is more than just a ten-minute novelty. There’s no denying it’s an exotic catch, but when it comes to quality open world action games, there’s plenty more fish in the sea.

Maneater is an enjoyable open-world romp that is just a bit too straightforward and contains more than a handful of bugs and performance issues.

The game’s campiness doesn’t extend to the shark combat, which flounders as a result of it mostly hinging on button-mashing.

If you’re after a big dumb shark game, Maneater will scratch that itch. The quality of the gameplay and some of its RPG mechanics might make you wish there was some more depth and variety to it all though.

Maneater isn’t exactly Jaws, but it isn’t Sharknado either. Crunching up hapless beachgoers and exploring underwater wonders is fun, even if the game’s bite is often blunted by clunky controls, repetitive missions, and a myriad of technical issues. Proceed with caution, but if you’re into sharks and can keep your expectations in check, Maneater’s treacherous waters may be worth wading into.

At $40, plenty will find Maneater provides the silly escapism that many are looking for right now. It has the humor and the charm, and it truly indulges the concept of a massive shark terrorizing the land and sea. But a disappointing mission structure, performance struggles on console, and a lack of variety keep the game from being a breakout hit.

I expected little more than a Deep Blue Sea, but it turned into The Meg pretty quickly, ultimately resulting in a Jaws: The Revenge that ate my savegame. Don't be temped by the prospect of being a sea predator; deep in your heart you know it's not going to be as much fun as you hope it will be.