SharkSouls

Ok so it's not exactly a soulsborne game but it has many of the mechanics of the genre I've come to loathe.

Attack! Dodge, wait for an opening attack again, but don't get too greedy!

Punishing mobs that will destroy you as soon as look at you unless you "git gud"

However I have to admit I have thoroughly enjoyed this game so far.

I bought the game with no expectations, just something to pass the time between AAA titles, it honesty looked like a slightly cheap novelty game, I was thinking underwater Goat Simulator. But I was quickly proved very wrong.

You play the part of a young bull shark ripped from your dead mothers womb by a creole shark hunter called Scaley Pete. He gives you a nasty scar to remember him by, you bite part of his arm off and so begins a Captain Hook/Crocodile type relationship. (The crocodile was a female crocodile just called "the crocodile" in the books, it was Disney that made it male and called him "tick-tock").

The game eases you in gently with a brief tutorial prologue in the form of your aforementioned deceased mother. Before long you find yourself in the Bayou as a young pup and must fend for yourself.

At its heart its an ARPG, you level up, put points into skills (called evolutions and mutations here), get bigger and stronger, fight bigger and stronger enemies rinse and repeat.

There are collection quests for each area, kill quests, hunts and plenty to discover. As well bigger picture of increasing your infamy by killing shark hunters. ( Think the nemesis system in Shadow of War or mercenaries in Odyssey.)

The environment is beautiful with well designed areas, no on screen minimap makes to plan your routes via landmarks like a grown up. The controls are fluid and feel responsive. As someone who hates any underwater level in any game it came as a relief that getting around is fairly effortless. The camera is great while exploring but the biggest fault of the game when in combat.

There is no lock-on during combat, this makes it very frustrating at times, especially when you are in a densely populated area trying to kill an alligator 4 levels higher than you, your carefully timed counterattack ends up wrecking an innocent baby turtle rather than your intended victim.

There is a soft lock that will highlight an aggressive enemy in your vicinity but this isn't always the correct one and even if it was as soon as you dodge or attack the lock drops and you have to re-enable it. I really hope this gets address in future patches and it seems a massive oversight given the populous of the environment and the often need to swap and prioritise between multiple kill targets.

The style of the game is great too, often humour falls flat in games (Claptrap!), but it works well here. Maneater is presented as a "Dealiest Catch" style mockumentary with narration from Rick and Morty's Chris Parnell. There's just enough dialogue without it ever being forced or labored. Overall the voice acting and production value is top notch.

So in summary.. It's a great ARPG that packs in all the features you'd expect from the genre, it doesn't hold your hand and isn't easy, but its not quite the levels of frustration/delight of a souls like. Underneath its light hearted exterior there is a lot going on, skills, upgrades, exploration, collectibles and it really does make you want to discover every inch of the beautiful game world. Equally accessible for a lengthy gaming session or a quick dip in play thanks to its fast travel system.

Priced at $39.99 its well worth checking out if you have the time/money/inclination.

I don't think anyone sets out looking for a Shark based ARPG where you mutate by eating people, but give this the benefit of the doubt and you'll hopefully be a pleasantly surprised as I was.