Maneater

Maneater on Xbox One is bloody brilliant. It’s a massive game with a lot to do and a huge amount of content to discover - the locations or beauty spots are usually wittily scripted, and have quite a few nods to popular culture as well, making them entertaining asides. What's more, there is a good story of revenge to follow.

Tripwire Interactive has managed to capture what it feels like to be Jaws, right down to jumping out of the water, landing on a boat, and chomping away at the hunters on it. That in and of itself is a momentous achievement to accomplish.

Maneater plays it safe. It chooses simple mechanics and proposes them in a ten and more hours loop, but in doing so, however, it makes the right choice, because Maneater is a well crafted and fun title. Those who are not afraid to do the same thing over and over again to become the lord of the oceans will find flesh for their teeth.

One of the best sleepers of the year. Maneater's looking forward to staying for a while.

It may only be single player, but treat it more like the Witcher than a party game: you are the shark, this is your time to rise as queen of the ocean. It may have a slightly bumpy start, as most games of this style do, but once it opens up the world is your… well, ocean. That sounds less dramatic when it’s literal.

Maneater touts itself as a “shark RPG”, but those RPG elements are disappointing. The world is wonderful but the story isn’t interesting, and the leveling system leaves something to be desired. But the shark elements? Those are flat out awesome! Leaping from the ocean’s depths to terrorize humans is right type mindless fun that never gets old. On those hot summer days when you can’t go to the beach, this is a fantastic reminder that you may be better off on dry land.

On the whole, more time in development might have ironed out some bugs, and the Day One patch which I’ve had a play with today addresses *some* issues, but a few more persist. They’re not game-breaking, but stand as reason enough the game might have needed another month or so in sharpening up. All that said, there’s a fun game here for people who are into 100%-ing anything they touch, and for those looking for something a little bit different. Be sure to watch the video examples riddled throughout this review to get an idea of what you’re in for, but I’ll be spending the rest of my game-time after plonking roughly 18 hours into it, uncovering everything else it has to offer.

Maneater is a quirky and addictive role-playing game that every Xbox One owner should play.

Maneater constantly blurs the line between sadistic mass murder simulator and clever satire, while also managing to be as fun as any human-based open-world game. Chris Parnell’s narration can get a little repetitive, as can the missions, and the camera could use a little work, but it’s all a matter of context. It’s a wild reversal of ego, an experience that is both completely freeing and oppressive at the same time. Stare into the dead eyes of the shark, and the shark stares into you.

Maneater is an enjoyable hunt that satisfies in its shark mayhem and story of revenge. The action is a bit repetitive and chaotic, but the goofiness of the violence ends up winning out. This is the first shark game I’ve truly enjoyed. It has cult classic written all over it.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Maneater, but what I got was an odd mixture of Grand Theft Auto for its threat level and Assassin’s Creed for its map markers, all while being a shark. While it has its flaws and can suffer from fatigue in long bursts, it’s also a unique experience (I’ve never heard of a shaRkPG) and can be quite entertaining and comical. Oh-oh, here she comes, watch out boy she'll chew you up. Oh-oh, here she comes. She's a maneater.

Maneater is another great title from Tripwire, plenty of blood and adventure packed into this single player shark fest. Full of fun and great gameplay I highly recommend to any Jaws fan or horror nut out there. The only thing I’d like to see next time… Online shark battles.

It’s dumb fun. It’s junk food. It’s a B-tier game that has decent writing and is doing something different. I had fun for the just under 30 hours it took to complete everything the game had to offer. It’s not perfect, but neither has been any other title to try and tackle this sort of experience; this game is by far the best though. If just swimming around and proving who’s the real apex predator sounds appealing then this is the game to play. There’s not much out there like Maneater.

Maneater is extremely fun. An underwater sandbox, starring a killer shark, full of blood and gore, with a great sense of humor. But it has several technical issues and lacks variety.

Maneater feels like a B-movie and it’s not ashamed of it. The atmosphere is undoubtedly its best value and, if you wan to appreciate it, you must avoid looking too closely at the details. The idea on which the game is based, after all, is that fish are smarter than humans, so Maneater rightly treats us accordingly.

Maneater plays its hand early, as the novelty of being an almost unstoppable apex predator thrown into an unforgiving ocean doesn’t have much depth to it. What Maneater does have though, is a meaty world worth exploring, a fascinating system of evolution and whip-smart writing that adds colour to your deep blue killing spree.

Aware of its own limitations, Tripwire has opted for the fun of this particular power fantasy to present us with a game that will not be part of video game history or a candidate for GOTY, but that is undeniably enjoyable and funny in all its humorous packaging.

Fun open world snack for in between, that is lacking the last bite.

If the idea of zoning out and basking in the serenity of being an unstoppable predator sounds appealing, then consider this an inviting summertime snack.

A fun game with an entertaining story about revenge it’s hard to put down despite some failings here and there.

The chief pleasures on offer are those of the power fantasy and of the newly burgeoning subgenre that we might call the zoological misadventure.

It's hard to deny that Maneater has colossal potential – though the lack of mission variety and some simplistic combat does lend it to feeling repetitious as time goes on. Putting these flaws aside, however, Maneater deserves kudos for an undeniably unique premise and laying a solid foundation for a franchise that developer Tripwire should almost certainly pursue.

An action game with tons of fun, but it is also very repetitive and simple in the long term. If it had a more varied gameplay and a deeper combat system, it could have been a better game.

Maneater is one of those arcade games we miss. It’s just pure fun, with a fantastic documentary-like narrative that makes playing it more enjoyable. It gets quite repetitive, though, as the mission design isn’t very diverse, but if you pace yourself you can make this flaw more bearable.

Maneater is a one of a kind RPG that revolves around the growth of a shark in search of his revenge. Besides its technical limitations and repetitiveness, Maneater is a lot of fun.

While Maneater could be regarded as something of a one-trick pony, it’s still a very good trick that you’ll enjoy while it lasts.

Manic marine mayhem, Maneater is a one-of-a-kind shaRkPG that can feel a little one-note at times, but it's never anything less than an unhinged, knowingly daft piece of entertainment. You get to be a shark and eat people, for crying out loud. It's fun and guaranteed to make you smile, (you son of a bitch).

Quotation forthcoming.

A funny idea that becomes boring too soon.

Maneater is like a joke that had a great punchline, but is milked for all its worth afterwards.

The game has its moments, and just roaming around is good for a couple of minutes of watery entertainment. But its clunky combat and repetitive, tedious gameplay means that, despite its toothy protagonist, Maneater lacks any bite.