Gaming has always had a fascination with sharks, from Shark Attack on the Atari 2600 to Jaws Unleashed in 2006, among many games using sharks as enemies. However, there hasn’t been a game yet where you can truly do anything as a shark until now. Maneater is a game that has been in development for some time that seeks to do something different with sharks and is shaping up to be one to watch this year. Maneater is an open world game where you play as a shark that eats people, which sounds simple but manages to include so much wackiness, that it instantly grabs your attention. A simple way to explain the premise would be to take the games Ecco The Dolphin and merge it with Saint’s Row and a polished bug free Goat Simulator.
The game is more than just simple wandering the waters and eating people though, as there are tasks to complete, and various interactions you can do. There is also a lot of exploration to be done, as the trailer shows you going through various underwater ruins, as well as engaging in fights with enemies. These fights can include going up against humans in helicopters and entire groups of people on boats. However, there is still more to the game as a goal you have is to evolve the shark into a more advanced creature. This includes getting a cybershark directly out of a scyfy channel movie, and even going on land to attack, as seen at the end of the trailer.
Maneater looks so good, because it looks so different. It takes the wide-open sandbox style of gameplay, sprinkles in the wackiness of the aforementioned Saint’s Row and Goat Simulator (except polished now) and adds in elements of the fan favourite Ecco series. There is a definite irreverent tone to the game, but there also looks to be depth, both in terms of missions and what you can do, not to mention how you evolve the shark. The enemies also get stronger along with you, and this keeps the challenge going.
Maneater is going to be a great game this year, and I urge you all to keep an eye on it. It is something new and looks to be a labor of love.