The nature of the transformation. Latex creatures can fuse together to form bodies with multiple heads and being assimilated by them will result in Death of Personality. Some of them can even assimilate with others to form various Mix And Match Critters while others can do so without a change in mass. This means that a single transfur could have assimilated several humans by the time you see it.
The Objectshifting mimic-like creatures are a supply of Paranoia Fuel not seen since Prey. Any inanimate objects from safety cones, to plants, to your own savepoints could actually be a latex beast lying in wait for you to get close and pounce when you least expect it.
The many, many, manyways Colin gets assimilated. Ranging from simply walking over something on the floor to reveal that even the pants he wears can actually turn him into one of the many barely-sentient latex creatures.
Even worse, depending on what he gets assimilated by, his final fate ranges from having his mind shattered into obedience by the local Hive Mind to straight up getting his biomass consumed by the predator to enhance its current body or form a new one.
Some of the animal latex beasts will not even bother infecting their host to reproduce, and just assimilate their human prey inside them. As showcased in some of the game over dialogues or bad endings, Colin doesn't lose his sentience in these instances, but is unable to ever escape or exert his will over the monster he's now been incorporated into. Since the latex beast needs a host to become The Ageless by circumventing its regeneration cycle, the poor young man has now shared the same doom of so other many humans - he's trapped forever inside the creature he's become a part of.
Colin's desperate fight to survive when a monster is engulfing and swallowing him up. Ranging from several squirrel-like critters happily clinging onto him as he frantically tries in vain to pull them off his changing body, to befalling to Behemoth. In the latter Colin is last seen tearing at his transformed face in clear distress, pulling away from the wolf-like entities own head. He cannot escape this fate however, as the wolf monster knows this before it forces Colin to rejoin before beholding its new body with smug satisfaction.
Getting assimilated by a lizard-like latex creature shows Colin trying to tear it off, but instead of pulling off the latex, he's ripping off his own skin, as the beast has already transformed him from the inside out and he's shedding dead skin no differently from a snake. The only good part here is that he appears to retain his memory.
The worst part? This instinct to assimilate any human that comes into contact with them was intentional on the researchers' part. They intended to set them loose on the surviving members of humanity who are dying to a virus that has spread globally with no conventional cure as being transfured grants immunity to it. The problem was that before they could finish fixing the Death of Personality that comes with the assimilation, the patients inside rioted and set the latex creatures loose on everyone in the facility before that could be solved. In light of this reveal, you realise that a majority, if not all of the latex creatures with legs that you ran into were former humans that got assimilated. And they now have that primary instinct to make you suffer the same fate.
Another thing about Transfurmation is that assimilation by it is unavoidable. All of Colin's actions throughout the game have, at best, only delayed the inevitable. In fact, the only ending where Colin isn't tricked to or purposfully gives up his humanity and become one of the latex creatures, is the one where he dies to the plague the latex creatures were made to cure it, resulting in the extinction of humanity as we know it either way.
Some of the latex beasts give a Stern Chase to say the least, and often it comes out of nowhere giving the player little-to-no time to react. The female snow leopard pursuit is one of the worse, as she's lightning fast, and you have obstacles in your path. Puro's not there to help in the original version. If you do make it out, you're still not safe. She will eventually follow you into the corridors and even when you think you're home free the monster will jump the gap to catch you.
You may find some photos lying around the complex of a young scientist, who went through education, graduated from university with various honors, to finally getting employed with the bioengineers. All show how happy and promising he is. But the last photo shows there was an accident, and he ended up as a confused light-latex wolf creature. It really hammers home the existential crisis these latex blob monsters can easily create.
The Pale Virus. In the future people began commercial operations and mining in Antarctica. Sometime later researchers there eventually found an ancient virus preserved under the ice. A deadly pathogen to hominids, it exploits fundamental flaws in the Human genome. They named it the 'Pale Virus' as its symptoms included fatigue, decreased blood supply to the skin resulting in a deadly-pale complexion. Eventually the infected person would lapse in and out of comas, before death. They couldn't celebrate their discovery - because this disease had already infected 60% of the human race. There's no vaccine or treatment for this pathogen at all. Thunder Science Company lacking the necessary resources had to acquire the building where the game is set from a robotics company via emergency expropriation during the pandemic. They had to resort to abducting people in order to measure the success of their trials - all failures. With still no cure, the situation deteriorated outside the tower complex when the 99% infected dying masses realized the ultra-rich and government leaders had just absconded to a secret bunker to weather this plague out, abandoning them. They riot, and in the chaos, the latex beasts escape lab containment and consume everyone they come across.
The fate of the surviving scientists, who after the mass riots were overrun by the escaping latex monsters, then tried unsuccessfully to hide and seal themselves away in rooms with supplies in some futile hope help would come. Knowing full well they were humanity's last stand, their creations would never stop, and are breaking down the doors to come claim them.
By the time Colin wakes up, the virus has successfully ended human society. All the latex goo monsters you see? Those were bioengineering scientists desperate last effort to change the very DNA makeup of humans in order to grant them some form of immunity. The virus is so bad that being assimilated into a Hive Mind leading to a Death of Personality, or even suicide, is considered a better outcome. Doctor K.'s worst fears are realized as the player uncovers Colin is infected with it, and will die if he doesn't undergo a 'transfurmation'.
In the Special Edition the White latex jungle area has seen a significant redesign to where it's now an Eldritch Location, filled with many sleeping Behemoths. So much of the light-latex has congregated here, they're a sprawling malformation all overlapping each other. As Colin tries to explore without disturbing them, they are feeling around for you, no differently than a sleeper trying to remove an annoying bug crawling around on their body.
When the Grey Goo giants do wake up, thanks to a pursing Feng Yu roaring loudly, they are enraged. Seeing bus-sized heads now glaring at you, as they send waves of white-latex beasts to catch you is unnerving.
When Colin's captured by the Special Edition's Pawn/Queen Gargoyles, they force him to become assimilated in their clutches. This happens without any Death of Personality, but the cruel twist is without any autonomy to move of his own free-will, ever again. The young man's body becomes more and more rigid, until he's an ossified latex gargoyle. Colin has a permanent horrified expression, that can only watch-on helplessly, as the clingy monsters cover him up in their wings, before overlooking the ruins... forever.
One of the bad endings has Dr. K kill Puro, forcibly 'transfurring' Colin before injecting him with drugs until they break his mind into blind obedience.
