Both the setting and the main story of the game make no attempt to hide the whole thing is a blatant parody of Jaws.


The story kicks in when the local top shark hunter, Scaly Pete catches and kills a female bull shark. Finding the shark pregnant, he proceeds to scar the newborn shark to recognize her once she's grown enough to be hunted.


Only for the baby shark to return the favor by literally biting back and tearing off Pete's right hand. Thus begins a bloody rivalry between a man and a shark to prove once and for all who is the true apex predator.


Oh, and the whole thing is brought to you by a reality TV-show.




The player controls the bull shark, the titular Maneater, through the various regions of the island of Port Clovis. The objective of the game is quite simple: Eat literally everything that moves to grow and evolve. Eating provides the shark with various amounts of the four nutrients: proteins, lipids, minerals and mutagens. The nutrients are effectively the experience points of the game as they both increase the shark's level and are required to increase the level of the evolutions. I find it positive that the game also highly encourages the player to effectively explore as much as possible, for completing the side quests yields notable amounts of bonus nutrients. Easily a faster way to level up than only by eating. In addition, one of the shark's abilities is a sonar, which ensures you probably won't have to search for most collectibles for too long.


Naturally, many things you're trying to eat will also try to kill you. Predatory marine life such as alligators, other sharks and orcas will fight back. And preying on humans will result in the local shark hunters sending boats after you. Killing enough shark hunters will raise your infamy level, after which the shark hunters will start sending gradually more durable and heavily armed boats.



The shark can gain various super powers through different evolutions.


- Bone evolution grants increased durability and lets you tear through most boats like they were paper.

- Shadow evolution lets you to poison your enemies and slow them down, along with vampiric teeth to replenish health easily. Especially useful for boss fights.

- Bioelectric evolution gives you the ability to stun enemies via electric shocks and dodge at the speed of lightning.

There are also other evolutions, such as increases to nutrient gains and the ability to survive and move longer periods on dry land. The shark can either be equipped with a matching evolution set for a bonus, or you can mix them in any way you want.


(Yes, I should mention that realism is effectively thrown out of the window into a garbage can, which is then loaded into a rocket and said rocket is shot into outer space and into a black hole from the beginning of the game).


Which brings us to the lifeblood of the game: Black comedy. The more nostalgic gamers may remember Jaws Unleashed and how it was quite dramatic thanks to the music of John Williams. In contrast, Maneater is pure black comedy. The events of the game are told through a reality TV-show titled "Maneaters vs. Sharkhunters" brought to you by Trip Westhaven (narrated by Chris Parnell), who has comments on everything, including the player shark getting killed. The collectibles contain references to various other franchises. Port Clovis is a cartoonishly heavily polluted environmental nightmare. The sharks bloody rampages against humans – all of it is played for laughs.



Progressing through the game follows a fairly straightforward formula: Complete some missions, fight the Apex Predator boss of the region, move on to the next region, rinse and repeat. The story progress is a little repetitive. However, you're free to explore at the pace of your choosing. Once you've grown enough, you can locate the grottos and explore almost every region of the island, even if you haven't unlocked the main quests for said regions yet.


I should note that the main story of the game is not that long. It can be completed in less than 10 hours, give or take, depending on how many of the side quests the player intends to complete. I imagine most players will try to complete at least the majority of the side quests, because as stated before, completing the various quests is easily the quickest way to accumulate nutrients and level up.



Jawsome (The Good)


+ Simplistic and easy to learn gameplay


+ An aquatic open world with a fair amount to explore


+ Playing a man-eating killer shark is surprisingly fun and addictive

+ A lot of marine life and humans with their boats to see (and devour)


+ Black comedy and especially the narrator's commentary ensures there's never a dull moment








Humanity (The Bad)


- Most boss fights are fairly easy. Perhaps a little too easy.


- The story missions follow a rather repetitive pattern


- The main story is rather short, at least considering the full price of the game

- Some glitches, such as the shark or some of the animals getting stuck. Some players say the game crashes a lot for them
-> compatibility issues with certain computer systems?






8-9/10


Playing as a bloodthirsty killer shark has never been as much fun. Despite being a relatively simplistic game, I find it surprisingly addictive. The game may have some minor shortcomings, but as far as I'm concerned, they're nowhere near enough to notably hinder the game. Bigger boat won't be enough for the humans who try to stop you. If you're a fan of the killer shark genre, this game is a must have for you.