XCOM 2 has been officially released and its been causing a lot of discussions online. Many are shocked at the sequel's brutally enhanced difficulty, others are happy with Firaxis' decision to fully embrace the modding community, and elsewhere on the Internet something really, really, WEIRD is going on...



artwork by Plague of Gripes

THAT. That is the new "Viper" class of enemy introduced in trailers last year for XCOM 2, and according to series lore, it's the unadulterated form of the "Thin Men" mobs from the previous games.

While the rest of the game features some classic alien designs like the spindly Sectoids and the fleshy Faceless, the Viper was immediately seized upon by the fandom for not quite fitting in due to its cobra-like features and inexplicable breasts. The end result being that any search for information on XCOM 2 is going to point you towards this:



artwork by marrymind

and this:





artwork by mediocre-scrubdraws

and these:

artwork by PlagueOfGripes



artwork by azakachi-rd-17

I admit, I wasn't following the hype for this game. I casually dabbled my way through Enemy Unknown, relying on snipers, overwatch, and save spamming like any true shitlord. But it turns out the fandom has fully embraced the Viper's otherworldly sensuality since its initial reveal in summer 2015:



artwork by nicolarre

God bless you gaming community, for embracing your weird side and letting the world know "yeah, our game has snake ladies, and WE LOVE THEM!"



artwork by IlceSarllART