We got a very brief first look at the new XCOM 2 enemy known as the Faceless at the tail-end of the Firaxis Mega Panel at PAX Prime 2015. The video clip was brief and distorted, but based on the alien's apparent transformation from normal-looking lady to gooey-looking mess, I thought it appeared to be some kind of shapeshifter. And I was right!
The Faceless entry added today to the XCOM 2 website doesn't get into huge depth, but what it does reveal is disturbing. "The aliens’ power of genetic manipulation knows no bounds. Operatives have discovered that the Faceless transforms from a seemingly ordinary looking human into the towering monstrosity you see pictured above," it says. "In its transformed state, the Faceless stands nearly one story tall, with an exaggerated reach and strength relative to its full form."
In case that wasn't bad enough, the site goes on to say that the Faceless, at least at the start of the game, cannot be identified prior to transforming, meaning that every civilian on the battlefield could in fact be a 12 foot tall mass of oozy flesh and muscle with razor-sharp talons. On the upside, at least it can't hide underground and then leap out and chew your face off when you wander by, right?
XCOM 2 is scheduled to launch on February 5, 2016.