Maneater: How a shark becomes the star of a role-playing game

Sharks both fascinate and frighten me. I’ve loved learning about sharks, their evolution, and their place in the world for as long as I can remember. But at the same time, the longest recurring nightmare I have involves a great white devouring me (29 years and counting, thank you, brain!).

So it doesn’t surprise me one bit that Tripwire Interactive’s Maneater intrigues me. It’s an open-world role-playing game in which you play a shark, from baby to elder. As you grow, you eat everything you can find — such as fish, gators, seals, and people — as you explore the world and evade the shark hunters. Its framing is of a reality show following Scaly Pete, a veteran shark hunter who killed the star’s mother.