Maneater, known as ‘the world’s first shark RPG,’ has just about everything you could want: evolutions, apex enemies, and plenty of hapless humans to chop on.
Initially, Maneater launched on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC – with a Nintendo Switch release date yet to be revealed.
To make the most of your time in the body and mind of the most adaptable Maneater shark in the world, the bull shark, you’ll need to get to grips with the Maneater controls.
In this Maneater controls guide, the analogues on the controllers are denoted as (L) and (R), with the buttons on the D-pad listed as Up, Right, Down, and Left. Pressing the analogue down to trigger the analogue button is marked as L3 or R3.
More controls for each platform will be added when they are discovered.
Maneater Controls on PS5 and PS4
If you’re playing Maneater on the PlayStation 4, there are three controller layouts available via the game’s settings screen.
If you scroll down to ‘Controls,’ you can select Layout 1, Layout 2, or Layout 3.
These are how the controls are mapped for each layout on the PS4 controller:
| Action | Layout 1 | Layout 2 | Layout 3 |
| Move | (L) | (L) | (L) |
| Look | (R) | (R) | (R) |
| Focus Threat | R3 | R3 | R3 |
| Activate Evolution | Triangle | L1 | R1 |
| Sonar | O | Square | O |
| Jump | X | X | Triangle |
| Submerge | Square | O | X |
| Evade | R1 | Triangle | L1 |
| Tailwhip | L1 | R1 | Square |
| Bite | R2 | R2 | R2 |
| Lunge | L2 | L2 | L2 |
| Open Map | Up | Up | Up |
| Open Evolutions | Left | Left | Left |
| See Infamy | Down | Down | Down |
| Open Log | Right | Right | Right |
| Open Inventory | TouchPad | TouchPad | TouchPad |
| Open Menu | Options | Options | Options |
Maneater Controls on Xbox Series X and Xbox One
On the Xbox One version of Maneater, there are three controller layouts available through the settings menu.
If you scroll down to ‘Controls,’ you can select Layout 1, Layout 2, or Layout 3.
These are how the controls are mapped for each layout on the Xbox One:
| Action | Layout 1 | Layout 2 | Layout 3 |
| Move | (L) | (L) | (L) |
| Look | (R) | (R) | (R) |
| Focus Threat | R3 | R3 | R3 |
| Activate Evolution | Y | LB | RB |
| Sonar | B | X | B |
| Jump | A | A | Y |
| Submerge | X | B | A |
| Evade | RB | Y | LB |
| Tailwhip | LB | RB | X |
| Bite | RT | RT | RT |
| Lunge | LT | LT | LT |
| Open Map | Up | Up | Up |
| Open Evolutions | Left | Left | Left |
| See Infamy | Down | Down | Down |
| Open Log | Right | Right | Right |
| Open Inventory | View | View | View |
| Open Menu | Menu | Menu | Menu |
Maneater Advanced Controls
Along with the Maneater controls listed above, there are some more techniques that you can use in the game, such as breaching and thrashing.
Knifing
Knifing is a method of swimming along the water’s surface so that you can stalk your prey.
To enter knifing in Maneater, swim up to the surface of the water at normal speed (without holding lunge) and then swim along the surface.
Breaching
To breach the surface of the water and perform an acrobatic kill, first, you’ll need to swim anywhere between the floor and just below the surface.
Then, turn upwards while holding the lunge button to swim upwards and breach the water’s surface.
Whipshot
The whipshot move involves you biting and holding onto prey before slapping them away with your tail.
To perform a whipshot, hold the bite button to grab an object or creature, and then press the tailwhip button to release the grabbed item and whip them in the direction that you’re facing.
How to Swim Faster / Sprint
To traverse the waterways of Maneater a little faster, press and hold the lunge button.
How to Thrash
In Maneater, when you are able to perform a thrash, a symbol of shark jaws will appear at the bottom of the screen.
This happens when you bite down on some prey. While biting or holding, with the prey still caught in your jaws, you then wiggle the right analogue side to side to perform a thrash.
How to Fast Travel in Maneater
As you unlock more of the map in Maneater and progress along the story, you’ll add to your available Grotto destinations.
To fast travel to a Grotto, simply open the map (Up), hover over the Grotto of choice, and then press the prompted button to fast travel there.
How to Save in Maneater
Maneater auto-saves very regularly and there isn’t a manual way to save the game.
However, if you the press the open menu button and then return to the Main Menu, when you go back into to the game, you’ll find that you have all of the nutrients and markers that you placed before you left the game.
Leaving the game during combat may mean that you miss out on some of the collected nutrients if the game hadn’t auto-saved yet.
You will, however, respawn at a Grotto as opposed to just carrying on from wherever you left the game.
For more Maneater content, check out our Landmarks guide and more below.
Looking for Evolution Guides?
Maneater: Jaw Evolutions List and Guide
Maneater: Body Evolutions List and Guide
Maneater: Fin Evolutions List and Guide
Maneater: Head Evolutions List and Guide
Maneater: Tail Evolutions List and Guide
