Comparison

Maneater vs Nova Drift

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Maneater

Experience the ultimate power fantasy as a terrifying shark in this open-world action RPG. Grow from a pup to an apex predator, exploring diverse environments and evolving your abilities to exact revenge.

Highlights
  • Open-world action RPG
  • Evolve and customize your shark
  • Explore diverse environments
  • Engage in compelling combat
  • Experience a unique story campaign
  • Day/night cycle
Features
Read full description

Become a MANEATER Experience the ultimate power fantasy as the apex predator of the seas - a terrifying SHARK! Maneater is a single-player, open-world action RPG (ShaRkPG) where YOU are the shark. Starting as a small shark pup, you are tasked with surviving the harsh world while eating your way up the ecosystem. To do this, you will explore a large and varied open world, encountering diverse enemies - both human and wildlife. Find the right resources, and you can grow and evolve far beyond what nature intended, allowing the player to tailor the shark to their play style. This is fortunate, because to get revenge on the cruel fisherman who dismembered you will take evolving into a massive shark, an apex predator of legends. Eat. Explore. Evolve. Unique Story Play through a full narrative, story-based campaign narrated by Chris Parnell (Rick and Morty, Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock) and set against the backdrop of a reality TV show. Diverse, Compelling Combat Battle fierce wildlife, including other apex predators, or fight against various types of human hunters ranging from town drunks all the way up to the Coast Guard. Evolve Into a Legend Feed on humans and wildlife to grow your shark, and find shark loot to evolve your shark down multiple possible paths. Explore the Gulf 7 large regions, including bayous of the Gulf Coast, resort beaches, industrial docks, the open ocean, and more. Experience a living world with a full day/night cycle.

About

Nova Drift

This roguelike space shooter blends arcade combat with RPG elements for deep ship customization. Evolve your vessel through rapid gameplay sessions, experimenting with over 200 modular upgrades to craft unique builds and dominate unpredictable, randomly generated challenges.

Highlights
  • Roguelike space shooter gameplay
  • Deep ship build-crafting
  • Over 200 modular upgrades
  • Quick, iterative gameplay sessions
  • Randomly generated challenges
  • Permanent death
Features
Read full description

- SURVIVE - EVOLVE - DOMINATE - Nova Drift is a roguelike space shooter that combines classic arcade combat with action-rpg elements, emphasizing build-crafting and deep customization. Your ship rapidly evolves as you defeat enemies, allowing you to take a build from inception to execution in a single, captivating game session. Featuring: - Quick gameplay sessions (15-45 minutes) that allow for rapid experimentation, iteration, and advancement. - Over 200 modular upgrades, unlocked over time, to create your ideal build with. Snipe, command a drone army, discharge your shields, charge up, burn enemies with your thrusters, or smash right through them... there's a way to make it work. - Modular challenge modes to unlock and activate, providing greater risk and rewards. The stakes are high, as death is permanent! - Every game is randomly generated, keeping the fight intense and unpredictable. Fight through the campaign or play endlessly... Nova Drift is created by Chimeric, with music by Miles Tilmann. Website: https://novadrift.io/ Discord: https://discord.com/invite/Zp2MkPJ

Screenshots

Maneater4 screens
Nova Drift4 screens

Verdict

The call

Maneater and Nova Drift both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 81% of Nova Drift's written reviews are positive against 67% of Maneater's. Nova Drift also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 18.0). Maneater's advantage is price ($7.99 vs $9.99). On rating, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Maneater costs $7.99 and Nova Drift $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Maneater holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 28 and 56 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 67% of Maneater's written reviews are positive against 81% of Nova Drift's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Maneater ships an update every 3 weeks, Nova Drift every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Maneater versus Nova Drift: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterManeaterNova Drift
Price$7.99 — better$9.99
Rating4.6 (28 ratings) — better4.4 (56 ratings)
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews81.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2856 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#55 — better#121
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2.7 GB573 MB
Age rating17+9+
DeveloperTHQ Nordic Mobile GmbHChimeric LLC

Customer experience

Maneater

All ratings23 ratings
Positive82.6%
Neutral8.7%
Negative8.7%
Written reviews48 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral10.4%
Negative22.9%

Nova Drift

All ratings54 ratings
Positive85.2%
Neutral5.6%
Negative9.3%
Written reviews59 reviews
Positive81.4%
Neutral8.5%
Negative10.2%

In-app purchases

None

Maneater

No in-app purchases

None

Nova Drift

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Maneater free?
Maneater costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Nova Drift free?
Nova Drift costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Maneater or Nova Drift?
Maneater is rated higher. Maneater averages 4.6 out of 5 from 28 ratings, while Nova Drift averages 4.4 from 56 ratings.
Do Maneater or Nova Drift have ads?
Neither Maneater nor Nova Drift shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Maneater or Nova Drift?
Maneater ships an update every 3 weeks, and Nova Drift every 10 days. Most recently, Maneater was updated on November 4, 2026 and Nova Drift on November 5, 2026.
Which is more popular, Maneater or Nova Drift?
Maneater currently peaks at #55 in the App Store charts, and Nova Drift at #121. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

Other comparisons