Maneater

Game Pass of the Week

Developer: Tripwire Interactive
Game Pass Launch: May 25th, 2021
Trailer: YouTube (Age-Restricted)

I am very excited for the upcoming release of Tales of Arise, a highly anticipated Japanese Role-Playing Game (JRPG). This game releases later this week which put me in that estranged positioned where I wanted to play something but had the added friction of not wanting to commit to a new game that I would not be able to complete; in steps Maneater. I specifically picked this title to play this week because I seemed its completion was not tied to its enjoyment.

Maneater is a reverse-horror action game where you take on the role of an evolving apex predator shark. The combination of a simple, comical premise and fun gameplay made this a great pick for filling a discreet gaming void. At around ten hours from nose-to-tail, you can enjoy this pick in a weekend where you are waiting for the next big title to land in your library.

There is a mild, mindlessness to the gameplay loop in the best way possible. It is primal in design, fixated on Darwinian notion of eat-or-be-eaten. You swim around, consuming creatures beneath you in the food chain (people included), growing large as you strive to the goal of becoming the apex predator, accumulating humorous powers like teeth that electrocute things.

Similar to other titles I have picked over the weeks, and becoming a bit of a pattern at this point, you can play Maneater while enjoying other media (podcasts, YouTube, Twitch, etc.). I was able to listen or watch something else and enjoy the mechanical motions of the game, only occasionally exerting attention to discern the next step I needed to take to keep the progression of the game going.

This was the perfect pick to keep my gaming appetite satiated without the common self-imposed baggage that comes with playing so many other games that demand your complete attention as well as their own completion.