First announced all the way back in 2018, Maneater is finally nearing its release. A shark RPG that may remind some gamers of 2006's Jaws Unleashed, Maneater has gotten a new launch trailer ahead of its May 22 release date that focuses on dark humor and over-the-top violence.
The Maneater launch trailer highlights the game's story, showing the origin of the man-eating bull shark that players will control in the game. As it so happens, Maneater is a tale of revenge, with players hunting down the fisherman that killed their mother. As a pup, players were able to bite off the fisherman's arm, and so he too is seeking vengeance. Players will have to complete a variety of objectives and level up their shark so that they can become strong enough to finally face the fisherman head-on.
Meanwhile, dismemberment isn't just going to play a role in the story. Maneater will let players bite off the limbs of humans and leave them alive, floating helplessly in the water. This is a pretty extreme level of violence, but Maneater appears to be presenting it in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way, with the trailer showing all kinds of ridiculous scenarios, including a shark sunbathing on a floatie while smoking a cigar.
Whether or not an open world shark RPG will resonate with players remains to be seen, but Maneater is definitely a compelling concept and a unique idea. It's true that there have been some shark-based video games released in the past, but few have been all that great. The aforementioned Jaws Unleashed is one of the most well-known shark games that has hit the market, but it earned scathing reviews at the time of release. It was a commercial success, though, so it's a bit surprising that more developers haven't explored the idea of shark games.
Maneater is being developed by Tripwire Interactive, the studio behind the Killing Floor games, so it stands a decent chance at being better received than Jaws Unleashed was back in the day. Maneater will be available to the masses by the end of the week, so those interested in the game don't have to wait too much longer to find out if the game is worth the price of admission.
Maneater launches on May 22 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with a Nintendo Switch version also in development.
