First announced on June 11, 2018, Maneater was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on May 22, 2020, by its developer, Blindside Interactive, and publisher Tripwire Interactive. Months after, in November 2020, it was released for Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 in November 2020. 

According to the game’s developers, the video game was based on the 2006 Appaloosa Interactive-developed video game, Jaws Unleashed. In an indirect way, it was also inspired by the 1975 thriller film, “Jaws,” as Jaws Unleashed was drawn from the movie. Other action RPGs like Deus Ex, Punch-Out, Dishonored, and Dark Souls were considered during development, making Maneater a mix of some of the best games of its kind.

A Neat Storyline

Maneater chronicles the tale of a long battle between a shark and humans — a theme commonly seen in several horror shark tales and films. It begins with an experienced Cajun shark hunter Pierre “Scaly Pete” LeBlanc, and his son Kyle accompanied by A film crew for a reality television show.

The shark hunter and his son embark on a wild hunt for a female adult bull shark struck with a harpoon in its side owned by Scaly Pete’s father. After combing the waters to capture this shark and retrieve Scaly Pete’s father’s harpoon, they manage to do so. Unfortunately, this leads to the shark going on a horrifying killing spree on the beach where it was captured. 

Scaly Pete and his son, Kyle, then discover that the female shark is pregnant. They eventually kill the shark and cut out the infant shark from her belly. Just like his father did years before, Scaly Pete marks the infant shark with his knife so that they will be able to identify it when it grows into an adult. He loses one of his hands while marking the shark.

Decades after that incident, that infant shark has now grown bigger than any other of its kind by feeding on fish, aquatic mammals, reptiles, humans, and apex predators. Its size is terrifying indeed, causing shark hunters from different places to go after it. However, when they do, they meet a painful and bloody end.  

Scaly Pete and Kyle are still in the shark hunting business, and they soon prepare to find the shark and kill it. They climb aboard Scaly Pete’s boat, the Cajun Queen, and when they eventually relocate the shark, they attempt to kill it. Pete and Kyle’s first attempt ends up taking yet another limb from Pete, his left leg. The next attempt is to burn the shark alive, but that one fails too as the gigantic shark escapes yet again. Following this failed attempt is an unexpected explosion in the Cajun Queen, which takes Kyle’s life and leaves his father tricky scarred and injured. Driven to madness by grief and determination, Scaly Pete makes it his only purpose to capture and kill the shark, which has now evolved into a huge monster shark nearly the size of the Megalodon. It becomes a bloody battle between him and the shark.

Get Started On An Incredible Gameplay

Playing this action RPG was an utterly thrilling experience. You are thrown into the action from a third-person perspective as you assume control of your character, a baby bull shark who is bent on seeking revenge on a shark hunter, who is none other than the legendary Scaly Pete, who killed its mother and disfigured it by marking it with a knife. You can also swim freely and explore the open world of Port Clovis, which consists of eight regions: Prosperity Sands, Dead Horse Lake, Fawtick Bayou, Crawfish Bay, Caviar Keys, Golden Shores, Sapphire Bay, and the Gulf. During your explorations and adventures, you will find enemy predators that you can fight.

Controlling the shark takes some getting used to, and its actions are neither overly simplified nor complicated. The shark’s basic attacks including charging into your enemy’s head, bursting out from under the water, and using your tail to swish and whip enemies out of the way. To remain strong and energetic, the shark hunts and feeds on other aquatic animals like fish and terrified, from which it obtains necessary nutrients, including a rare and special kind of mutagenic.

While waging war against the humans, your shark can also cause some more chaos by wreaking havoc along the beaches. You can also destroy yachts and ships testing your waters and have some fun knocking people off their jet skis. To get more strength and to get even larger, there are places called underwater caves where the shark enters to unlock new abilities and sizes. This allows it to be strong enough to fight larger and more dangerous enemies.

As time goes on, your shark develops into an adult Megalodon with advanced skills and features. You can also upgrade the skills and features, such as getting external bone plates, shadow armor, and even electromagnetic spikes to make the shark even more formidable in battle.

Maneater Features That You’ll Enjoy

The backstory and plot of the game seem both interesting and thought out. I enjoyed how there was terrain to explore and swim through with the eight regions in the world of Port Clovis. The fights between the other predators encountered were also enjoyable throughout. I got to battle alligators, barracuda, muskellunge, and even other sharks.

Seeing my bull shark grow and evolve into this huge, formidable Megalodon was delightful, and The implementation of the RPG system into the game was very impressive. I also liked that I could customize my shark.

All Games Have Their Flaws

While Maneater’s flaws are far and few in between, there were some gripes I could not let go of. The action was fun and a little toned-down in terms of the gore while I started to notice how repetitive the combat and business can be. 

The other characters, the humans, Scaly Pete and Kyle, were not wholly explored either. You had such a short time with them that it seemed like they were incomplete or underdeveloped characters only serving as objects to the story’s subject. 

Final Verdict

From the scenery to the gameplay and the somewhat dumbed-down action and gore, I must admit that there aren’t many other games of this kind that have given me such thrill in a long time. If you are looking for a game to get some kicks out of chomping on everything in your way while getting revenge, this game would be more than just perfect.