Maneater Critic Reviews

Much like no one ever sees a shark attack coming, Maneater is a gem hidden in an ocean of offerings and those who find it will be in for a precious and fun experience.

Maneater's deep combat and deeper oceans provide just the type of blissful escapism we need right now.

A good little distraction and a fun romp, I’d probably wait for a sale before dropping cash on it… but it is worth a play if you like a bit of tongue in cheek fun.

Maneater is just the type of game a shark enthusiast, such as myself, has been waiting for. The sharks get their revenge on humans and other predators as it grows. The combat and swimming systems work very well, and mix well with the blood and gore that gives a realistic feel to the title. I loved most aspects of the game and the story and will enjoy playing it through to completion to reach the ultimate evolution. For $39.99 USD this is a very beautiful game about sharks and while some areas may lack fullness it is worth that price.

Maneater is unique — tell me the last time you played an open-world RPG as a mutating shark. Its sense of humor winks at you. It’s challenging without being difficult. And it’s hard not to enjoy the absurdity of being an armored shark that can destroy 10 or so boats as hunters are shooting you with automatic rifles and machine guns and throwing TNT at you...I would’ve liked a bit more clarity on the storyline quests, and it would’ve been nice if Maneater would say a bit more about the imperiled state of sharks in our world. And if you don’t get the joke, you’re not going to get this game.

Maneater sets out to deliver a specific experience and ends up nailing that, but not much else.

Maneater does a great job of giving players a compelling and rewarding shark RPG. The entire campaign concludes with your shark being an absolute tank, which is when the real fun begins. The mission structure is repetitive, and the controls take some getting used, but in the end, this a game about playing as a shark and eating things in an open world. If you know what you're getting yourself into, you'll find yourself in a sea full of possibilities; if not, then you might consider this to be a shallow experience.

Maneater is knowingly imperfect, but presents a very competent open world checklist RPG where you happen to play a shark instead of the usual cop or criminal.

If you can live with the issues, you'll find Maneater to be a ridiculously good time. The aforementioned issues are a shame, but the distinct nature of being a shark and the ability to deliver mayhem in a different way. It'll remind players of what was so appealing about open-world games in the first place. Thanks to Maneater's relatively short completion time compared to other open-world titles, it's well worth checking out.

While its story missions and their variety can be improved upon, especially when it comes to the endgame, Maneater is an absolute blast. The open world is beautiful, captivating and inviting for players of all kinds, the combat is incredibly fun, and it has a nice and sharp bit of humor to it as well, reveling in just how much the people of Port Clovis are obvious jerks…which only makes it more enjoyable to rip them apart, of course. It might not be on par with the likes of Jaws, but what we have here is still one stellar b-movie to gleefully go nuts in. And sometimes, that’s really all you need in order to help live out your monster movie fantasies.

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.

Maneater is more than entertaining with a good quality product, good control, great map design and a story of sea revenge full of surprises. It may not be a game of the year, but it's still a great game, funny with a very dark sense of humor.

Maneater Art It's a tough life being a shark. Time and time again, the media portrayal of sharks shows them as relentless monsters, whether through the tension of Jaws or the more absurd The Meg. Maneater looks to add some balance by casting the player as the aquatic predator, acting as the protagonist of the story rather than as the perennial heel. Developed by studio Tripwire Interactive, Maneater leans heavily into cheesy shark movies. Unthinking and aggressive, the player consistently terrorizes animal and human alike in its quest to become an ultimate predator. Moving from bayou to coast, before moving into the deep of the sea, Maneater is a vicious and hilariously over-the-top experience. Continue scrolling to keep reading Click the button below to start this article in quick view. Maneater Art Start now Related: How To Level Up Fast & Effectively in Maneater Maneater's core premise of destruction comes in the form of an open world sandbox. The player's bull shark doesn't quite have the same depth of the characters of GTA 5, but the end result can be just as explosive. Once Maneater gets going, the promise of being an unstoppable aquatic killer is an intoxicating concept that works incredibly well. Maneater Jumping Shark To begin with it's quite sluggish, however. An introductory tutorial level, where the player has full control of an adult shark as it sates its appetite with unsuspecting swimmers, abruptly ends when the shark is caught and butchered by our main antagonist, Scaly Pete. This shark hunter cuts a young bull shark out of its caught mother and throws it into the bayou - but not before the pup takes Pete's hand off as swift retribution. After that, the player takes on the role of the orphaned shark, chomping down on an assortment of unsuspecting wildlife as it grows big enough to take on larger prey. It's surprisingly slow going at this stage, strangely similar to the bizarre SNES game E.V.O.: Search For Eden, as the shark gets power-up boosts, gains levels, and stealthily hunts its prey while avoiding larger predators like alligators. Before too long, Maneater gets into its groove. The game plays heavily on its outlandish premise, amping up what was seen in 2006's Jaws Unleashed to its logical conclusion. Along the way Maneater throws in a fair bit of comedy, framing itself as a reality TV show following shark hunters and spitballing jabs at everything from Fyre Festival through to Waterworld and Pennywise the Clown. Maneater Bayou The core gameplay then falls into a loop that's been seen many times before in open world games. The quest for vengeance leads the shark into various parts of the city, thinning out the population of prey or predators, killing some unsuspecting civilians to gain infamy, before taking down the boss and moving onto the next area. Strangely enough, Maneater's closest structural peer is Mafia 3, albeit replacing its complex human main character for a slightly less nuanced portrayal of a furious fish. Related: Our Exclusive Footage of the World's BIGGEST Great White Shark Rather than the mob bosses or fearsome foes of other open world games, Maneater instead has two unique kinds of challenge. Each part of the city's waterways is the home of a specific apex predator that is significantly tougher than the usual enemies, such as a mako shark or an alligator, which is lured out after the player has completed enough quests within the area. Meanwhile, growing your infamy with human kills will attract the attention of named shark hunters that prove to be more difficult than the usual hunters that the player faces, with this mechanic feeling almost akin to the Cult of Cosmos assassinations in Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Maneater does fall into the trap of becoming a collect-a-thon at times, which certainly isn't for everyone, and this adds to the sense of repetition that sometimes feels like unnecessary padding. Thankfully Maneater does a better job than most games that fall into this trap, thanks to the snippets of humor received via Chris Parnell’s great voiceover work as the host of the titular shark hunting show. Maneater Hunter This sense of repetition is the only major negative of Maneater, as apart from that the game lives up to the promise of an unrestrained creature feature experience. Growing from a youthful shark through to a terrifying elder is satisfying, and the game's on-the-nose environmental message is portrayed with a tone that feels like a bastardized version of Captain Planet. The best way that this is showcased is with Maneater's outrageous upgrade system, with the shark given genetic mutations that are narratively tied to the pollution that seeps through the waterworks of the game. The player can become a bone-coated horror shark that would give the characters of Deep Blue Sea nightmares, and choose upgrades that allow the shark to slow down time and release poison, or even give off lethal electric shocks. Maneater is at its best when the player is fully upgraded, and able to wreak havoc on the general population. One of the best bonuses in the game makes the bull shark amphibious, allowing them to jump onto land for longer periods of time and partake in such wonderful moments as gatecrashing an ocean-side rave and ruining the party. Alternatively, the player could choose to take their neon death shark into the middle of an orca show, jumping into the seats and mercilessly eating the audience. Maneater Electric Shark Quite simply, it's a joy to play when unleashing the true power of this ultimate predator. A lot of the time, the player will be best served by ignoring what Maneater is telling them to do and instead just deciding to ruin someone's day. When the option to jump onto land and join a beach gathering is available, or to hop into a golf course and literally eat the rich, then it's easy to lose track of the main quest. It's these kind of moments, much like Grand Theft Auto, where Maneater shines. Hunting other aquatic creatures is all well and good - particularly with the challenge of such dangerous predators as great whites and orcas - but taking on humans is the best part of the game. In particular, fighting back against bounty hunters works extremely well, whether ramming boats until they sink, eating harpoon-wielding diving hunters whole, or jumping straight onto a boat and chowing down on the surprised hunters. Maneater Bone Shark That's without saying how well-crafted other aspects of Maneater are. When it comes to its control scheme Maneater is fantastic, with an intuitive lateral feel that gets players into the groove instantly. From a sound design perspective it also shines, with muffled underwater sounds and genuinely unsettling noises for incoming attacking predators that add tension to the early game. The world of Maneater is also great to look at. Its underwater set pieces, whether via claustrophobic, anemone-laden tunnels or vast open water areas, all look wonderful, while even the flowing of the water on the surface is very realistic. Maneater's shark protagonist's movements are also well-realized, with animations that never get tiresome over the course of the game's runtime. Maneater is big, dumb, and wonderful. Although the game could have done with trimming some of the fat rather than squeezing out as many hours of gameplay as possible, once the player gets through its early stages it's a ridiculous and lovable open world experience that provides exactly the level of chaos that its players will crave. It might not be safe to go back in the water, but undoubtedly it's a risk that is worth taking.

Maneater is a fun aquatic adventure with more to keep players engaged than it initially seems, it kept me hooked throughout and has enough daft character to bait me back in for a future play-through. Beautiful to look at, well-paced but chaotic when it needs to be and I had a whale of a time.

With more in the game than the concept might suggest, this is a fun to play title and exceeded my initial expectations of how the game would be. It’s a little short and I would have liked more of it, but this is definitely worth picking up.

Love it or hate it, there is no denying that Maneater is a game that stays true to its unique vision. Its difficulty level can be daunting and play does get repetitive, but it's an interestingly presented game where you get to be a shark in a reality TV show. Maneater was a welcome taste of something different from my usual RPG diet and I'm glad I got to play it, but can only recommend it if you're willing to overlook its flaws.

In a world where everything is so damn serious, Maneater is a refreshing breath of air. It’s a short, fun, memorable romp through the life of a shark that’s better written than a lot of what comes out to today. The game is also narrated by the excellent Chris Parnell, of SNL and Archer fame, who is able to keep the quips coming at you without ever grating on your nerves. The game struggles with issues of mission repetition and a sometimes-wonky camera, but overall, Maneater succeeds with much of what it’s trying to do.

Ultimately, Maneater's biggest flaw is repetition. What's here is good, and playing as a shark has never felt better. But, activities can quickly feel routine as you do the same types of objectives over and over. Still, if you want to carve a bloody path of carnage as a horrifying shark, there’s nothing quite like it.

While Maneater is certainly a title that works for me in terms of its humour and an engaging core gameplay loop, its graphic nature means it’s not going to be for everyone. If you don’t mine a little gore — okay, make that a lot of gore — this unique experience should be right up your alley.

Far from being a joke like Goat Simulator, Maneater is a true RPG with good visuals, a nice storyline, and everything to have good times. Beware, it can be quite repetitive at times.