The Muton, an alien unit familiar to players of 2012’s XCOM: Enemy Unknown, will be returning in this year’s sequel XCOM 2, developer Firaxis and publisher 2K Games announced today.
However, the Muton will be a little different from the empty-headed, brutish warrior of Enemy Unknown. Thanks to a little human DNA, the aliens have found a way to change their own genetic makeup, resulting in human characteristics being replicated in alien DNA. Thusly, the Muton is not the same dimwitted warrior found charging the frontlines in Enemy Unknown. Instead, the Muton now possesses the intellect of a human mind.
New abilities for the Muton will include Suppression techniques that can subdue their enemy along with a free reaction shot that will give the Muton a shot at their suppressed target should they decide to move. The Muton will also have an Alien Grenade that can deal damage to a group of enemies at once. And just because they may have a stronger mind in XCOM 2 doesn’t mean they aren’t just as brutish as they were before. Getting in close with the Muton opens up the opportunity for it to counterattack by having a chance to ignore melee damage and instantly strike back with a melee attack of their own.
XCOM 2 was announced in early June of this year and subsequently shown off at E3 2015 with its first official gameplay footage. It launches this November exclusively on PC.