
Maneater
By Paul Semel,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
This shark game is bloody good fun, but not for long.
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Maneater
Community Reviews
Based on 6 parent reviews
some kids can play this game
What’s It About?
In MANEATER, you play as a baby bull shark who wants to get revenge on the fisherman who killed your mom (and who you play as during this game's training exercise). To do this, you're going to need to grow up so you're strong enough to take him down. This means eating right, exercising, and, strangely, trying to find license plates that people have somehow lost in the water. In doing this, you'll not only get bigger and stronger, but you'll unlock augmentations that puts this game decidedly more in line with a Sharknado sequel than anything you'd see on National Geographic.
Is It Any Good?
While this "shARkPG" -- as the designers call it -- is both fun and funny, both wear a bit thin after a while. In Maneater, you're a baby bull shark who wants to get revenge on the human who killed your mommy. So you do what you can to get big and strong, which includes eating a ton of fish and other aquatic life, looking for lost license plates and other collectibles, and eating humans who are just innocently swimming along and not-so-innocently trying to kill you. All of which happens in the wide-open waters off New Orleans, while actor Chris Parnell (the guy who voices Jerry on Rick & Morty and Cyril on Archer), doles out interesting and often ridiculously untrue "facts" about sharks.
But while this is as much fun as it sounds, and Parnell's narration makes it just as funny, the good times don't last. For starters, the controls you use for the camera are wonky, even after you adjust them, which makes it hard sometimes to truly stalk your prey. This is especially problematic when you're young and you get into fights with alligators, who are annoyingly stronger than you. Switch players may find this to be a larger issue when they're using the Joycons, which aren't as precise as you need them to be when it comes to controlling your shark and the camera in the best way. (The Pro controller is almost required for solid gameplay) It also gets a bit redundant after a while (you can quickly become sick of eating catfish), while the lack of a map when you're swimming makes it hard to navigate the twisty waters. And no, having a glowing light in the sky doesn't help when the waterways are maze-like. None of which is to imply that Maneater isn't entertaining, because it is. But just like real fish, this doesn't stay fresh all that long.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in video games. Is the impact of the violence in Maneater affected by the amount of blood spilled during the game when you eat fish, swimmers, and other aquatic life? Do you think showing all that blood being spilled is necessary or gratuitous? Would the gameplay have the same effect if the amount of blood was decreased?
How does Maneater fudge the truth about sharks? You do know that sharks don't jump onto the decks of fishing boats to eat people or dedicate their whole lives to getting revenge?
Game Details
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch , PlayStation 4 , PlayStation 5 , Windows , Xbox One , Xbox Series X/S
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Tripwire Interactive
- Release date: May 25, 2021
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Topics: Adventures , Ocean Creatures , Wild Animals
- ESRB rating: M for Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Mature Humor, Mild Language
- Last updated: May 25, 2021
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