PC Gamer - UK 2020-04)

I

fitwereeasytomakegamesaboutbeing

ashark,I’dbeabletonamemorethan

justJawsUnleashed–a 2006 game

Tripwireplayedasitfiguredouthowto

builditsshark-basedRPG.Withthecaveatthat

thereisn’tmuchcompetition,Maneatermaybethe

bestsharkactionyet.

when I lunged onto their boats, or even

when my fin appeared on the surface –

they accepted their fates a little too easily.

Other issues make a shark RPG tricky

to design. How does a shark level up, for

instance? In Maneater, you literally grow,

beginning as a nimble pup and ending the

game as a behemoth capable of tearing

apart fishing boats. And if it wasn’t clear

that Maneater isn’t really a nature

documentary, you can also upgrade your

body, forming a bony exoskeleton to bash

ships with, bioelectric talents, or some

stealthy, vampiric traits.

BITING POINT

The controls take some getting used to,

and it’s optimised for a controller right

now, though it will support keyboard and

mouse. Essentially, Tripwire has to design

a melee dogfighting game. You move

through three-dimensional space – at

least until you breach the surface and

start snapping at humans – and attack

with bites and tail whips.

A degree of automatic locking-on

makes it manageable. Aim nearish a fish,

hit the right trigger, and you’ll lunge into a

bite. Tapping the right trigger chomps and

swallows, and you can also wiggle the

right stick to thrash your prey around and

pacify it first. Better, though, is going full

Looney Tunes and smacking your catch

with your tail to fire it like a projectile.

The quality of the tougher fights with

apex predators and the coastguard – who

appear as part of an armada that

responds to your GTA-like infamy level

• will determine if all the chomping and
  evolving is worth it, and Tripwire is
  confident that it’s more than a novelty
  shark sim. But just exploring Maneater’s
  seven regions while Chris Parnell tosses
  out gags seems like a good time, too,
  especially if you enjoy marinescapes as
  much as I do.
  Tyler Wilde

I FELT THE GREATEST

CATHARSIS FROM

TERRORISING

THE HUMANS

PLAYED

IT

A shark RPG that aims at more

than just novelty

MANEATER

Fish don’t talk, which makes storytelling

difficult. To solve that, Maneater is framed

as a reality show akin to Deadliest Catch,

with actor Chris Parnell narrating your

movements in the water, explaining your

shark nature as you swim around

devouring hapless beach-goers.

You have a human nemesis, a shark

hunter who’s the star of this reality show,

as well as underwater enemies, apex

predators who’ve muscled into your gulf

territory. It’s time to restore some natural

balance. Gobbling up fish is fun, but I felt

the greatest catharsis from terrorising the

humans. I only wish they freaked out more

Maneater

PREVIEW

RELEASE

May 22

DEVELOPER

Tripwire

PUBLISHER

In-house

LINK

tripwireinteractive.com/games

NEED TO KNOW

You’d think people would stop going to the

beach after this happened once. Nope.