The Ultimate experience; become one of the most fearsome creatures out there today! A deadly Bull Shark with an appetite for revenge!
Some key points that this game offers:
- Open World Environment
- Eat! Explore! Evolve!
- Become the Ultimate Apex Predator
- ShaRkPG
Gameplay & Controls:
Maneater can be played with keyboard and mouse or controller on the PC. You have free reign to remap the keys as you see fit as well. I have played the game with both mouse and keyboard and controller option. It plays quite beautifully and comfortably either way. As always it comes down to personal preference.
After a brief playable intro, you find yourself in the bayou; as a little Bull Shark pup in the open water. The game has a tutorial system that helps you get accustomed to the navigation and gameplay controls. Once that is out of the way, you have free reign to swim wherever you want and chomp down on everything you find.
As you go about eating everything in your path, your shark gains XP, and as your Shark levels up she not only grows, but she also evolves. You will experience the evolutions that turn your Shark into the ultimate Apex Predator.
There is a brilliant storyline behind the game, narrated by none other than Chris Parnell himself. The storyline is also set against the backdrop of a Reality TV Show, further adding to the entertainment that it offers.
The game world is broken up into seven regions; Each of these regions offers a number of missions and side quests for you to complete. With these missions comes a variety of collectables that are just waiting to be found.
Graphics:
Absolutely gorgeous. From the variety of aquatic species, you will chow down on to the vegetation in and out of the water. Everything has been gorgeously designed to offer you a viewing marvel. The shadows and lighting effects you experience as you swim through the water at different times of the day and night add a very realistic atmosphere top the game.
The same goes for the different depths you find yourself in, the natural light that the game creates makes it very realistic and memorable. There is so much detail in the game that it truly is a marvel to experience.
Every region has been beautifully created and sculpted to ensure that it offers a very realistic appearance of the landscape. Be it the swampy Bayou’s, the Deep Blue Sea itself or the Industrial areas. There is so much extra detail in these regions making your underwater experience breathtakingly beautiful. There are sunken ships, underwater buildings, reefs and eco systems, all so vivid and realistic that it is a true joy to explore.
Under the settings panel we have numerous options to fully customize how the game runs.
Sounds:
Music joy… The soundtrack has been incredibly well chosen to ensure that the game has the right tone for the right scene. Be it that you are leisurely cruising through the open waters, or stalking your prey. The right tune will be there ready and waiting to ensure that your journey is not one of solitude.
With the soundtrack comes very realistic sounds to ensure that whatever you are doing can be heard, whether you are chomping down or some food or breaching the water.
Under the settings panel we have full volume control
Replayability:
Maneater offers some replay value. Getting from the beginning to the end itself will take quite a bit of work and grinding. There are a lot of collectables to find and some can only be done when your Shark has grown to specific sizes, so you will have to revisit previous regions to finish them 100%.
The side quests themselves will keep you busy for a short while too, and then there are the hunts as well.
MGR Gaming’s Conclusions:
Spoilers Ahead:
I’ll be honest, I’ve been wanting to play a game like this for a great many years. I love sharks, they are these fearsome monsters that look like they are hell bent on eating from the moment we set foot in the ocean, but that is not the case.
The game offers strong RPG elements, the levelling system is nice and very well implemented, the simplicity in gaining XP as you chow down on others is simple but effective. As you play through the game you unlock evolution options that can equip onto your shark. These range from different body parts to unique organs. Equipping the body parts changes the entire way your shark looks and behaves and that is not all, every piece offers unique passives for your Shark.
The organs also offer passives such as being able to stay out of the water for longer… Yeah that is right, you can hunt and kill in and out of water. Another passive that they offer is additional gains from proteins, minerals or mutations. These ‘currencies’ we use to upgrade our evolutions to higher tiers.
As it stands, Maneater is a pretty incredible game. The developers did an outstanding job here. The gameplay, the campaign, the world, and every other aspect is pretty fantastic.
There is a slight grind in the game, but this is to be expected from any RPG. The game has no major issues, there is a random crash every now and then which Is odd. Given that it is a new game I am quite sure the developers are already looking into it.
Maneater has so much potential to become bigger than the next big thing, and the developers behind the incredible game are quite passionate about it. I really hope that they bring out more content for the game. Additional Evolutions and even bigger class sharks would be amazing.
The Official trailer for Maneater:
