Maneater review - PC Gamer

While you don't make little sharks in Maneater, you begin the game as one, a baby bull shark cut from the belly of your dying mother by a cajun ... Skiptomaincontent PCGamer PCGamerTHEGLOBALAUTHORITYONPCGAMES Search Subscribe (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) UKUSCanadaAustralia PCGamerMagazineSubscription(opensinnewtab)(opensinnewtab)Whysubscribe?Subscribetotheworld's#1PCgamingmagTryasingleissueorsaveonasubscriptionIssuesdeliveredstraighttoyourdoorordeviceFrom$10.99(opensinnewtab)View(opensinnewtab) News Reviews Hardware BestOf Magazine TheTop100 Forum More PCGamingShow Podcasts NewsletterSignup CommunityGuidelines AffiliateLinks Meettheteam AboutPCGamer PopularNot-E3awardsPCGamingShowSteamdemosDarktideStarfieldNivalis PCGamerissupportedbyitsaudience.Whenyoupurchasethroughlinksonoursite,wemayearnanaffiliatecommission.Here’swhyyoucantrustus Home Reviews RPG Maneater OurVerdict Itlooksgreat,butthefunandnoveltyofbeinganeternallyhungrysharkwearsoffquickly. ThisreviewwasoriginallypublishedinMay2020.Wehaverepublisheditin2021tocoincidewithManeater'sSteam(opensinnewtab)release.I'velosttrackofhowmanypeopleI'veeaten.Mymissionwastoconsume10golfers,andsincepeopledon'tgolfintheoceanIhadtojumpoutofthewaterandshimmymywayontothegolfcoursetostartchowingdown.BeforeIcouldfinishmysnack,threepatrolboatsfilledwithgun-totingsharkhuntersappeared,soIatethem,too.I'mprobablyuptoabout17humanseatennow,thoughIstillneedthreemoregolfersinmybellytofinishmygoryquest.NeedtoknowWhatisit?Action-RPGwhereyouareaveryhungryshark Expecttopay$40 DeveloperTripwireInteractive PublisherTripwireInteractive ReviewedonRTX2080,Intel i7-9700K,16GBRAM MultiplayerNone LinkOfficialsite(opensinnewtab)CheckAmazon(opensinnewtab)MorehuntersinpatrolboatsandonjetskisarrivesoIconsumethemtoo,alongwithafewdivers.Andthenacelebritysharkhunterappears,flankedbyseveralescortboats.It'sCandymanCurtis,importantenoughtowarranthisownintroductioninacutscene.Thisisabossfight,but...he'sstilljustanotherhuman,right?Nosuperpowers,nosuitofamor,nomassivemeterofhitpoints.Ileapfromthewater,snatchCurtisfromhisboat,andswallowhiminafewbiteswhileIswimaway.Defeatingahumaninabossfightisnobigdealwhenyou'reagoddamnshark.Sharksonlydothreethings,accordingtoMattHooperinthe1975filmJaws.Theyswimandeatandmakelittlesharks.InManeater,Tripwire'saction-RPG,youjustswimandeat(andsometimesbellyflopontoagolfcourse),whichdoesn'tsoundlikeenoughtopropelyouthroughanentireopenworldRPG.Andunfortunately,itisn't.EvenconsideringIfinishedthemainstorylineinundereighthours,Istillgotprettyboredwiththerepetitiveswimmingandeatingactivitieslongbeforetheend.Whileyoudon'tmakelittlesharksinManeater,youbeginthegameasone,ababybullsharkcutfromthebellyofyourdyingmotherbyacajunsharkhunternamedScalyPete.Petemarksyouwithascarandthrowsyoubackintothewaterafteryoubiteoffhishand,andyoubothsetoutforrevenge.TohaveyourfinalshowdownwithPete,you'llneedtobecomequitetheadversary,growingfromababyshark(doo-doo,doo-doo,etc.)toateen,thenanadult,andfinallyamegashark,gainingnewabilitiesandattacksalongthewayandupgradingthemusingnutrientsfromtheendlesssupplyofcreaturesandpeopleyouconsume.There'salotofappealingrowingfromalittlefishtoahulkingleviathan,butthere'sjustnotenoughvariationinthethingsyoudoalongtheway.Eating10ofsomething—humans,turtles,fish,seals,othersharks—isinitiallyfun.Humansscream,animalsstruggle,bloodfillsthewaterandcoatsbeachesandboats.Thrashingyourshark'sheadbywigglingthemousebackandforthwhileholdingyourpreyquicklyreducesthemtoacloudofchum.Butdoingitagainandagain(andagain),thegruesomenoveltywearsoffquicklyanditbecomesamindlessexercise.Therearequeststokillsinglelargepredators,too,likeagator,barracuda,orafellowshark,andmoredifficultbattlesagainstapexpredatorslikeanorcainaSeaWorld-likearenaandanancientspermwhalebasedonMobyDick.ButcombatandenemyAIinManeaterisprettysloppy,andIeventuallyabandonedcarefulevasionandtimedstrikeswhenIdiscoveredthatjustspammingmyattacksworkedfarbetter.Theorcabosswouldn'tpursuemewhenIwenttoeatfishtoregainmyhealth,meaningitwaseasytowhittlehimdowntobloodychunks.IdefeatedMobyDickbyramminghimintotheseafloor,wherehegotstuck.ThenIjustfloatedthereandslowlychewedhimtodeath.(Imagecredit:TripwireInteractive)Humansscream,animalsstruggle,bloodfillsthewaterandcoatsbeachesandboatsHumansharkhuntersshowupwhenyoubeginterrorizingotherhumans,whichgivesyouaGTA-likewantedlevel.Andsharkhunterbossesonlyarrivewhenyou'vedrivenupyourthreatlevelbykillingloadsofgenerichunters.Mostbosses,likeCurtis,arejuststandardhumanswithabiggun,whichIactuallykindofappreciate.Onceahumanbossisintheworldyoucaneatthemjustasquicklyasyouwouldanyotherperson.It'srefreshing.Afewbossesneartheendhavearmoredboats,depthcharges,andbetterweapons,butworkingyourwaythroughthedozensofstandardhunterstospawnthebossismoreofachorethandefeatingtheactualhumanbossesthemselves,andspammingattacksworksaswellonboatsasitdoesonseacreatures.SharkTrekTherestofManeaterisallcollectible-styleactivities:Findeveryhiddenlandmark,everysunkencrateofdrugs(helpfulformutations),everygiantspinninglicenseplate(becauseinJaws,asharkatealicenseplate,see).Thesesameactivitiesarerepeatedineverynewregionyouvisit,andthat'smostlywhatyoudoinManeater:Swimaroundlookingforcollectiblestocheckoffyourlistwhileeating10/10variouscreatureswhentoldto.WhileManeater'sregionsthemselvesarewonderfullydiverse—fromtheshallow,murkybayoutothegarbage-chokedcityriverstothesprawling,sparklingoceanfilledwithmarlinandmassivespermwhales—theactivitiesyoudointhemarenot.(Imagecredit:TripwireInteractive)Atleasttheprogressiongainedfromtheserepetitivetasksfreshensthingsupabit.Youcanearnevolutionarymutationstocoveryourbodywithabonyexoskeletonanduseapowerfulbatteringramattack,whichwasmygo-tochoiceforsmashingboatsandtorpedoingintoenemysharks.Anothermutationletsyougrowbluetendrilstoshockyourenemiesandturnyourselfintopureelectricitytoevadeattacks,whichcertainlylookscoolbutwasn'taseffectiveaswearingbonearmorandrammingthingswithmyhead.Therearealsopassiveabilitiesthatcanbeupgradedtotinkerwithyourbuild,likeonethatletsyousurvivelongeronland—extremelyusefulforeatingcrowdsofhumanswithouthavingtojumpbackintothewatertobreathe.Maneaterlandmarksguide(opensinnewtab):HowtogetallevolutionsTheseupgradesalsodemonstratethelackofdiverseactivitiesinManeater.Thebonearmorsetisunlockedbykillingapexpredators,thebio-electricabilitiescomefromdefeatinghumanhunterbosseslikeCurtis,butthere'salsoashadowmutationset,whichgivesyouavampirichealth-leechability,atime-slowingskill,andapoisonattack.Theshadowsetcanonlybeunlockedbyfindingeveryhiddenlandmarkinfivedifferentregions,atiresomechecklisttaskwhichkeptmeswimmingandsearchingthroughregionslongafterIwasreadytoleavethembehindandmoveon.(Imagecredit:TripwireInteractive)There'sstillalotIloveaboutManeater.Theenvironmentsarewonderfullydetailedandapleasuretoexamineinthefewquietmomentsbetweenchewingthroughthesame-yquestsonyourchecklist.Thelookofyoursharkisfantastic,too—eachlittleupgradeyoumaketoherbodyresultsinherlookingcoolerandmoremonstrous,withtheboneexoskeletongrowingmorefearsomeandjaggedandtheelectricalandshadowmutationsslowlycoveringyouwithweirdscience-fictioncosmetics.Withthefullyupgradedmutations,youreallydolooklikeasharkfromahorrorfilm,whichisbasicallywhatyouaretoallthosehaplessgolfers.Thestoryofyourshark'slife(andScalyPete's)isprovidedbyChrisParnellofSaturdayNightLiveandRickandMorty,andit'sanenjoyableseriesofsmoothlydeliverednarration,one-liners,pop-culturereferencesoneverythingfromWaterworldtotheFyreFestivaltoArrestedDevelopment,andevenafewgenuinesharkfactsthrownin.IlaughedanumberoftimeswhileplayingManeater:Parnellhasasupremetalentforsoundingofficiousandinformativeevenwhenhe'sspoutingutternonsense.It'salsoreallynoveltoprogressfromanewbornbabysharktoameg,togrownotjustinyourabilitiesbutinphysicalsize.Thehammerheadsharksandgatorswhichoncebatteredmemercilesslyasayoungstereventuallybecameazero-riskfoodsource,posingnomorethreattomethanasealorturtle.Holdingacreatureinmymouththatoncedwarfedmeisadamnsatisfyingfeeling,andthatkindofsizeprogressionisrareinRPGs.It'sjustashamethejourneyfrominfanttomegasharkisn'tpopulatedwithawidervarietyofactivities.LikeHoopersaid,sharksjustswimandeat,andthat'sunfortunatelynotenoughtofillevenashortaction-RPGlikeManeater.TODAY'SBESTDEALSCheckAmazon(opensinnewtab) TheVerdict 65 Readourreviewpolicy Maneater Itlooksgreat,butthefunandnoveltyofbeinganeternallyhungrysharkwearsoffquickly. ChristopherLivingston (opensinnewtab) ChrisstartedplayingPCgamesinthe1980s,startedwritingaboutthemintheearly2000s,and(finally)startedgettingpaidtowriteabouttheminthelate2000s.Followingafewyearsasaregularfreelancer,PCGamerhiredhimin2014,probablysohe'dstopemailingthemaskingformorework.Chrishasalove-haterelationshipwithsurvivalgamesandanunhealthyfascinationwiththeinnerlivesofNPCs.He'salsoafanofoffbeatsimulationgames,mods,andignoringstorylinesinRPGssohecanmakeuphisown. Seecomments PCGamerNewsletter Signuptogetthebestcontentoftheweek,andgreatgamingdeals,aspickedbytheeditors. ContactmewithnewsandoffersfromotherFuturebrands Receiveemailfromusonbehalfofourtrustedpartnersorsponsors ThankyouforsigninguptoPCGamer.Youwillreceiveaverificationemailshortly. Therewasaproblem.Pleaserefreshthepageandtryagain. 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