I have played a dozen or more games of the genre of ‘you are a creature, you eat to get bigger, in order to eat bigger things’. Maneater is what happens when you expand on that idea and try to make an sort-of-RPG from it. Mileage varies. On sale for like $10, including the DLC.

High level, all of these games suffer from the same type of issues. You start off extremely defensive as you’re very weak, with nearly every corner a type of death. You eventually reach a point where the environment has no real challenges and it snowballs into a sort of ‘god mode’ game. The best games here add new mechanics to add challenge, the less good games add hit point walls.

The core of the game has 2 main streams of effort. First is a bunch of map markers that ask you to attack a landmark, chew some meat things, or open a tunnel. It’s rather free form and simple enough, back to basics from 20 years ago. There are some tunnels that connect locations, so you’re generally rewarded for exploration.

The second stream is the RPG element, where you have mini-quests, mini-bosses, levels, equipment, and stats. Make the numbers go up! This is different than most games, and uses Chris Parnell’s as a sarcastic narrator. There’s a really tough balance with comedy, and if you like Chris Parnell’s sarcasm, then this will work for you. If not, well, not. In my case, I enjoy it.

The combat portion is relatively straightforward. Attack and dodge. In most games, combat takes place on a relatively linear plane. Here, it’s more like Xwing, with full 3D movement, including breaching the water to attack surface dwellers. There are camera issues, and nuances to the lunge attacks on the surface that generate a significant amount of frustration. The ‘target lock’ feature is wonky. The game is relatively easy, the hardest boss battle will remain the controls.

The story itself is over the top without being campy. Thankfully it’s only about a dozen or so hours. Which gets me to the final point.

There’s a soft spot here in terms of price and value. Gone are the days where any game can justify an $80 price tag and truly reach mass appeal, without some extra bits involved. Live Service games sort of work here (though honestly, Roblox + Fortnite absolutely dominate that market). What’s left is this middle ground of games in the $10-$20 range that need to find the right balance of quality and content. Something like Tower Wizard at $5 and taking 6hrs to complete is a good deal. Seance at Blake Manor too. Maneater at $10 is a solid pick. I think there may be some area here to explore further…