In the pre-show leading up to the main event, Tripwire Interactive (developer behind Killing Floor) showed off a look at Maneater. A game where you play as a shark eating people, it bears a strong resemblance to Hungry Shark. People die, you get fed, and there’s lots of blood. It was kind of awesome.
Apparently announced months back, Tripwire has been pretty quiet about this Jaws-like experience. According to information from the publisher, Maneater is an action RPG set in the waters of the Gulf Coast. You’ll play as a giant Bull Shark and begin terrorizing everyone and everything.
As confirmed during the show, Maneater will be releasing on May 22, 2020. It is planned for PC and will be an Epic Games Store exclusive when it does release. There’s no word on if this will come to consoles or not, but it seems like a given. Tripwire’s previous titles have made the jump to consoles shortly after their PC releases, after all.
When the trailer was airing, my first thought was that this was some kind of Hungry Shark remake. A free-to-play game on mobile devices, Hungry Shark tasked players with swimming on a 2D plane to eat people in the ocean. It was really basic but had an arcade scoring system that kept you coming back for high scores.
The very idea of a shark terrorizing the waters isn’t new. Steven Speilberg famously found fame in the 70s by creating Jaws. Jaws might be a little old now, but he was once a proud part of Universal’s lineage (and even had an attraction at Universal Studios up until a few years back). He took to the waters of Amity Island and began devouring the tourists that would visit.
Hungry Shark was clearly a play on Jaws, and Maneater looks to continue that. Considering there hasn’t been a new Hungry Shark in a few years, maybe it’s about time we received a new one. Tripwire has some clout with making ultra-gory games and a shark simulator would be a perfect title to play up the violence.
Let’s get to chomping!
READ NEXT: Geoff Keighley Introduces “The Game Festival” To Let Viewers Demo Games At The Game Awards