This game features open world gameplay, with the player assuming control of a large great white shark and being able to roam freely throughout the water, eating other animals and humans, while destroying everything in its path.

The cove has tutorials to allow the player to become familiar with the controls, such as the ones for moving the shark and attacking other creatures.

Players can choose to upgrade the shark's power, speed, hunger, health, or accuracy.

This HUD has four meters and a sonar that informs players of the positions of important objects, prey, and enemies.

The shark can ram objects with its snout, whip enemies with its caudal tail, bite, and when the player earns enough points to upgrade their abilities, new attacks become unlocked, such as the "corkscrew" and the "body bomb".

To perform a corkscrew attack, the player must charge up the head-butt meter and tail-whip meter; head-butt first, then release the tail-whip button and the shark will spin around, causing damage to anything caught in its wake.

The increased population around the island and industrial activity has also attracted the Earth's most fearsome creature and the game's main character: an enormous, 35 ft (11 m) great white shark.

Brody shows up at this point, captures the shark, and transports it to Amity's marine theme park, similar to SeaWorld.

Brody tells the mayor that his research has discovered that the subsonic frequencies emitted by Environplus's Seaseeker submarines are causing the sharks around Amity to become more aggressive and attack humans.