Every year, about a hundred shark attacks on people are recorded worldwide, and a tenth of such attacks are fatal for the victim. There is not enough to consider these sea predators a serious threat to humans, but cinema and the media are doing their job: every such case is widely covered, and horror films like “Jaws” have long become an entire subgenre of modern cinema. Therefore, despite all the appeals to statistics, the frightening image of a huge toothy fish is still relevant today.

Hardly anyone thinks about how things are on the “other side”. Humans kill tens of millions of sharks every year, mostly for commercial and recreational purposes. Shark fins are a well-known delicacy, and prices for white shark teeth and jaws can reach tens of thousands of dollars. It’s probably very disappointing for the sharks to “lose” with such a devastating score, while remaining the heroes of nightmares and a constant scarecrow for those who like to swim behind the buoys.

Developers from Tripwire Interactive, best known for two series – Killing Floor And Red Orchestra/Rising Storm. Their new action Maneater is dedicated to the adventures of a shark, and, as the name implies, this game is not at all about the close friendship of a man and a huge predatory fish.

Baby Shark

The story of the main character Maneater begins with an unborn shark being cut straight from the belly of a mother caught by hunters. The baby immediately shows her character – she bites off the right hand of her offender and floats away to freedom. There is a small bay around with muddy water, inhabited by a variety of living creatures – fish, large and small, as well as not very friendly alligators. What to do? Survive and grow, hoping to eventually take revenge on the killer of his mother and also the main villain of the game – a shark hunter nicknamed Big Pete.

There is a lot of food around – just have time to catch it. It’s not that difficult even at first: the main thing is to find your prey in the teeth. Each piece of meat eaten adds a small amount of experience, which is necessary for the growth of our cute fish, and the nutrients contained in the food will be needed to unlock special skills, which are called evolutions here. Electric jaws or a bone shell will be a good help in the fight for survival, because not all sea inhabitants are easy prey – some are not averse to feasting on shark meat themselves.

The same valuable substances can be obtained in other ways – by finding a special box in a secluded place at the bottom of the sea or by completing tasks that are abundant here. These tasks do not shine with originality and variety: usually it is necessary to eat a certain number of fish, amphibians, or even people who are not aware of the danger.

However, it won’t be possible to feast on human meat right away: the shark is still too small, and so far it has only encountered sea inhabitants. But there is an abundance of all sorts of interesting places that you can find and get not only experience and resources, but also a short story about the sights. What in other games are only side activities, such as searching for notes or collectibles, here becomes almost the most important part of the passage: to advance through the plot, sometimes you need to find about half of these “secrets” on the level and complete all the necessary tasks.

Let’s go hunt

The shark grows, and so https://sportsbettingmedia.co.uk/latest-news/esports-betting-guide do its appetites. Soon you can try your hand at hunting more interesting game – in the neighboring location there is plenty of bipedal food. People do not evoke sympathy – on the contrary, the tasks, the voice-over narrator, and the entire surrounding reality only turn the player against people and their interference in the environment. Pollution, unbridled exploitation of natural resources, drunkenness and drug addiction, even social inequality – all these topics, so close to every fighter for all kinds of rights and freedoms, are reflected in the game.

Over time, the little baby shark grows into a huge monster that can sink a boat with one swing of its tail.

After some time, it becomes clear that this is not a fun cannibal simulator or a popular science educational program on the inhabitants of the sea, but the most “green” propaganda. Humanity is represented only by bastards and slackers, who do not care one bit about the planet, and the shark is a kind of orderly of the sea, who, to the best of his ability, fights the human threat to all living things.

Quite an interesting way of ideological brainwashing, I must admit, but it seems to me that it lacks sharpness. More trash and dark humor would definitely not hurt the game. And so… it seems that all this is in place, but either the authors themselves are embarrassed to be completely ruthless towards their victims in the form of brainless people, or they lack the imagination for truly funny and original jokes. Calling shark hunters killers and drunkards, going through the entertainment of the rich, and constantly reminding them about sea pollution and uncontrolled fishing – that’s all they can do. Social satire in the same GTA although it was not the central theme of the plot, it looked much more fun and relevant.

Humor is clearly not the strong point of this game. Yes, there are a couple of good jokes, but it only became truly funny to me once: at the moment when I realized that they were trying to stuff me with propaganda using a video game about a killer shark. That’s it, and I never expected this.

There is enough blood in the game, but due to the constant flickering of the camera during the battle, it is not always possible to see the “meat” in detail.

This is the end

If we consider Maneater only from the point of view of gameplay, discarding the ideological component, there is practically nothing to praise the authors for. The effort of the location designers is noticeable – the levels really differ from each other, and each reveals a specific theme, and the graphics allow you to admire quite nice landscapes both in the depths of the sea and above the water. Some will be attracted by exploring the depths of the sea – there are plenty of secluded places and secrets hidden around every corner. And… perhaps this is where the advantages of the game end.

The combat system, despite the capabilities available thanks to versatile leveling, comes down to “calling out” opponents (only sometimes you have to retreat to replenish your health). The potential of jumping and other tricks that could be used to build a separate game is practically not revealed. The tasks on each of the eight levels are practically no different – kill a dozen fish, eat a dozen people, explore the location, defeat a unique enemy… There is no need to talk about the merits of the plot in a project thoroughly saturated with propaganda: everything is predictable and formulaic.

The game is completed quite quickly, especially if you don’t bother with exploring hiding places and secrets. But this can hardly be called a plus – hunting people and battles with shark hunters or sea inhabitants gets boring much earlier.

A shark can stay on land for quite a long time and usually spends this time with maximum benefit for its own stomach.

Too primitive to retain any interest in fighting other predators or eating bathers on the beach. Too monotonous to complete tasks. Too clumsy to arouse any interest or sympathy for the social and environmental problems that the authors address. The only thing really fun to do here is explore the levels and look for collectibles and hidden places.

Environmental propaganda wrapped in mediocre action, nothing more. The cannibal turned out to be toothless.

Pros: the opportunity to explore the depths of the sea in a variety of locations.

Cons: straightforward “green” propaganda; primitive combat system; monotony of tasks.