XCOM 2’s Gatekeeper looks like your new worst nightmare

XCOM 2 is racing towards release with just a month left to go, which means marketing for the strategy title is reaching its climax. Just last night an embargo on some hands-on time with the game dropped, which revealed some new areas in the game, new enemies and most importantly, just how damn hard the entire experience actually is. In a nutshell, it’s sounding like proper XCOM goodness in its purest form.

And while we didn’t get our own hands on the game, there were a few interesting reveals that immediately caught my attention (being a misguided Commander myself). First and foremost was the introduction of the Gatekeeper – a brand new extra-terrestrial that looks like it’s going to be a headache to deal with if far on the battlefield. The orb like being packs some standard firepower – the best of which happens to be a death ray because of course there’s a death ray – but its real threat becomes apparent when it opens its shell (with some gameplay courtesy of IGN).

Brandishing an almost Krang-like appearance, the Gatekeeper uses its extra appendages to attack your troops and make rather quick work of them. Worse still is the fact that the Gatekeeper is then able to resurrect these fallen teammates as PSI-powered zombies – which just makes the agonising loss of a seasoned soldier just even more painful. The Gatekeeper seems like a foe you want to dispatch as quickly as possible, although I’m sure XCOM 2 will make that easier said than done.

Aside from the reveal of the Gatekeeper most hands-on previews have pointed out that Firaxis’ sequel seems to be a lot more challenging than the predecessor ever was, which is good news for most of the hardcore fans that made the revival so successful. It means I’m going to be having a tougher time with it though, and I look forward to sending Sgt. Figgy, Col. Geoff and Pvt. Bonthyus to their spectacular deaths.

Last Updated: January 8, 2016