Rend and Tear
If it’s one thing Maneater on the Playstation 4 by Tripwire Interactive is, it’s brutal. Marketed as the ultimate power fantasy, the title puts you into the role of a fearsome Shark. While normally docile, the sharks you play as are anything but as you terrorize the land and sea indiscriminately. The open waters are yours to grow in, offering many gorgeous locales and intimidating threats on your journey to overcome all with their own distinct flavors. The result is a game that feels like a nautical version of Grand Theft Auto that delivers on its mission with a fantastic visual style, but not without some noticeable problems.
The Deadliest Game
You are the Bull Shark, native to the waters of Crawfish Bay. After a run in with the baddest local Shark Hunter around, you are captured and disemboweled far from your own home. Instead of guts, however, the hunter’s knife reveals a newborn shark. This is you and armed with a taste for flesh, you wrench yourself from the hands of the murderer and into the bayou to plan your revenge. From the top your sense of freedom in the open waters feels great, giving an immediate yearning for exploration with a dash of whimsy as you swim to and fro. It is also fun to munch on the helpless prey to gain experience and grow.
It is pleasantly surprising to be given so much freedom from the start, but it is not without pitfalls. Early game combat must be precise and calculated, even outright avoided at times, but this ends quickly as you grow bigger. While all food is not created equal, you will always want to be consuming the local wildlife for the experience it brings and the resources they give to aid in the evolution of your shark. Along with bonus nutrition from missions, evolution happens fast and is satisfying to see. The RPG flavor is enhanced due to the bonuses given when acquiring all mutations of a single type, such as Electricity, to give a stat boost akin to an armor set bonus from a Diablo-style title. By the end of it all, your aquatic monstrosity will rule the many locales with an iron jaw.
Blood in the Water
While swimming though the water is a calming and atmospheric experience, combat and other action sequences are where Maneater runs into problems. Combat is tough to jump into as not only are early game enemies some of the toughest there are, but the lack of any lock-on targeting system makes the experience wholly unfocused. You are to focus on the opponent by pressing R3 when they are not in view, but this becomes a mess when fighting multiple enemies. Very rarely will the game focus back onto the enemy you are attempting to target and if too close to the surface, one wrong move could send you into a completely different control scheme. These quick environmental shifts can cause slowdown and even crashes on the PS4 when there are a lot of NPCs and action on screen at the same time, especially in the later levels of the game. These are all symptoms of the biggest issue the title suffers from.
Maneater condenses 3 different control schemes onto the PS4 controller. Controlling the titular creature is different when underwater, in the air, and skimming the surface with your menacing dorsal fin. While interesting and immersive when completely mastered, you will more often than not be wrestling with the controls to maintain precision. This only gets harder as the game becomes more challenging. While the main campaign is fun and personal, it isn’t too long nor is it the most rewarding to complete. The best mutations and rewards are hidden behind action-packed battles that require constant, precise movements to not be completely shredded by gunfire or gnashed by quick teeth. Some of these battles are tougher than anything in the main storyline, making the fault in the controls all the more glaring.
Lord of the Sea
Maneater is the definition of a flawed masterpiece. When it all comes together, the experience feels fantastic and immersive. Stalking prey, terrorizing humans and fighting heated battles against man and beast alike is an unparalleled and fresh experience. Customizing your shark quickly becomes a monster factory of possibilities, mixing and matching and levelling up to create the perfect killing machine. This is all unfortunately hidden behind a clunky control scheme that can fail spectacularly unless completely mastered. When combined with crashes and slowdown on the PS4, it’s tough to recommend for an immediate buy. If you are looking for a new and different action experience, however, give Maneater a shot. Especially if you can find a deal.
