Maneater - PS4
So this is basically Jaws the Video Game. Supposedly, there was a PS2 game similar to this called Jaws Unleashed that people keep incessantly bringing up whenever this game gets talked about. Don't know anything about it, but Maneater is an open world game with some minor RPG elements. The advertising for this game calls it a full blown RPG though. Seems like every game that comes out these days gets the RPG label slapped onto it.
So, this game has a lot of problems. One being that it's almost as buggy a game as Mad Max. It can delete your save data, happened to me 2 or 3 times. Supposedly some trophies aren't popping for some people, though I didn't encounter that. Keeping back up saves are a must (one of the reasons I hate the Nintendo Switch, where you can't do that). The controls are a bit awkward and take some getting use to. The game has an AWFUL targeting system, making much of the combat more annoying than it needs to be.
Speaking of combat, it's a bit shallow. You'll be mashing the right analog stick a lot as enemies are always darting past you forcing you to hit R3 in order to get your shark to turn around and face them, at which point you'll be mashing R2 and hoping that the flimsy targeting system will lock on so your shark hits them. Fighting bounty hunters is equally shallow. They are so overpowered you'll have to mash the evade button constantly to avoid their nonstop gun shots as well as the explosives they throw in the water. You never get a moment to breathe when fighting them. Fortunately, one of the game's upgrades lets you do damage while evading so you can get some damage in while mashing R1 and eventually whittle down the bounty hunter boats with damage until they sink.
Maneater definitely has balancing issues. Right at the beginning of the game you'll get mauled by alligators eight levels higher than you and the aforementioned bounty hunter fights can get pretty hairy and unfair until you get the evasion damage upgrade I mentioned. Eventually though, as you level up and upgrade the game does reach a point where it's pretty easy. So the difficulty issues go away eventually. The game is repetitive too with missions consisting of you doing the same 4 or 5 things over and over again.
Despite all these complaints, the game has things going for it. It really FEELS like you're Jaws sometimes. When your fin pierces the water, hearing the reaction of nearby humans is immensely satisfying. Then, once you go berserk, pandemonium ensues. Screams, blood, and a big giant shark flying out of the water high into the air with a human corpse flailing about inside its giant maw as people run in terror. And while the bounty hunter fights can be annoying, it's fun when things start to go in your favor. Your shark will pop in and out of the water, occasionally with a body in its mouth, blood everywhere, while you're hearing things like, "My arm!", "Oh my god, it's literally eating me!", "Where she'd go, is she right under us!". It's awesome when you take out a boat, and watch the bounty hunters all fall into the water where they become helpless snacks for you. Occasionally, if you're lucky, you can dive out of the water and snatch someone right off their boat, and into the water, which is awesome

When you get to a point where you're high level with lots of upgrades and evolutions, you feel like the king of the underwater jungle. Certain types of underwater foes that once gave you trouble will now find themselves in your maw in seconds as you thrash their corpse about ripping it into pieces before swallowing it all with a satisfying gulp and a spray of blood. You actually get bigger as you level up which helps makes fighting certain tough enemies easier over the course of the game. Size matters in this game. The site of a great white shark helplessly caught between your teeth as you're chewing it to pieces feels reeeeeealllly awesome. There are things called apex predators in the game too and taking them on when you're strong enough feels good. They'll show up after you eat a ton of the local wildlife, as you are stealing their food sources. Then it's a fight to see who is as the top of the food chain. You also build up infamy when fighting bounty hunters. There are certain famous ones that will show up when you cause enough of a ruckus and build up enough infamy and taking them out feels good as your becoming known far and wide as an aquatic terror
The game is full of interesting easter eggs, references, collectibles (that help you upgrade and level up), and a pretty good sense of humor. A lot of the references and jokes revolve around finding collectibles known as landmarks, so it feels worth it seeking them out. Plus, you get XP and materials for upgrading. It's kind of fun exploring the game's environment too. Lots of interesting things to see above ground and underwater. In the early parts of the game exploring always has you on edge a bit as you never know when something will attack you. The game really portrays the waters as danger territory where it's eat or be eaten. The whole game plays out like some documentary with a narrator providing lots of funny commentary as you play the game. He's really good and his commentary typically reflects whatever you're actually doing in the game (kind of like Bastion) The first time you decide to go on a man eating spree he says, "Sharks are not known for attacking humans" as you finish swallowing one whole in front of a terrified group of swimmers LOL. Later in the game, after you've gone on a few human killing sprees, the narrator says, "When faced with a gigantic predator chasing after you, maybe it's easier to just surrender and accept the sweet embrace of death". LOL. The game is a good mix of humor and bloody, disturbing violence
Hard to say if the game is worth it at forty bucks. It has fun, memorable moments, but lots of issues too. It's definitely a buy if it's ever on sale though. Devs have announced DLC for it, for better or for worse. It's pretty clear they don't actually know yet what the DLC will be. So we'll have to wait and see if it's good or not. This is one of the many reasons I don't usually like DLC, you don't even know what you're going to get in some cases. And while it's easy to say, more content is always a good thing, sometimes it's not. See Final Fantasy XV