[Ultra Mantis]

Source Looking like somewhat of a cross between the Strogg from Quake 2 and the Genie from Disney’s Aladdin comes the horrific new re-imagining of the alien (and somewhat unfortunately-named) Floater. Originally debuting in UFO: Enemy Unknown’s 1994 release, the Floater has been drastically overhauled from its traditional appearance of a weird pink alien slathered across a floating orb, to a monstrous cyborg powered by a pair of twin back-mounted jets. Firaxis described the new Floater to us as living a life full of “rage and pain”, and seeking to take that rage and pain out on us as players. Their new battlefield role seems mostly unchanged from the original, but they are now described as having the additional ability to teleport rather than simply relying on flying from place to place. Their new appearance also suggests perhaps a tougher or more front-line level of combat, although this is not yet known. The Floater joins the Sectoid as the only other known enemy to be making a return from the original games, with all previously released screenshots to date showing only human-like enemies in blue suits. Unlike the Sectoid however, which appears to be a darker take on its iconic 1994 appearance, the Floater is a clearer indicator of Firaxis’ new vision of the UFO/XCOM universe - a universe that is looking more and more compelling by the minute.