If you're a hardcore Jaws fan, you might remember the game Jaws Unleashed, which let you roleplay as the infamous shark and unleash his razor-sharp teeth on the unsuspecting. That power fantasy is getting a modern revival with Maneater, an open-world RPG where you play as a shark, complete with shark stats and skill trees.
Showcased during the PC Gaming Show hosted by our friends at PC Gamer, Maneater comes to us from Blindside Interactive and will be published by Tripwire Interactive, best known for the Killing Floor series. Blindside was founded by Alex Quick, the modder who created the original Killing Floor mod for Unreal Tournament 2004, and would later create Depth, a multiplayer sharks-versus-divers bout. Maneater (no relation to the classic Hall & Oates song) is taking that refreshingly novel 'you are the shark' gameplay from Depth and greatly expanding it into a full-blown "sharkPG."
You'll be devouring man and woman alike as a unnaturally strong bull shark, able to leap out of the water to chomp on your prey or tail-slam fishermen off their boat and into the water. Humans aren't the only course on the menu, either - you'll be sinking your teeth into other wildlife, like battling against competing sharks or taking a bite out of alligators and whales. If your target is anywhere near a body of water along the Gulf Coast, then they're as good as yours.
PC Gamer has a deep-dive Maneater interview with creative director Alex Quick, which you should check out to learn more about the RPG elements and how boss fights work in a game starring a shark. The game is "coming soon" to PC, and could very well work on consoles - because really, everybody secretly wants to be a shark.
Be sure to check out all the other exciting E3 2018 games!
