Rainbow Six Extraction is a spin-off of Ubisoft’s top competitive multiplayer hit, Rainbow Six Siege, set in an alien-infested America. This three-player cooperative shooter borrows its predecessor’s weapon and controller rosters and re-textualizes them in a more accessible environment and player setting – often with exciting results. . Operator advancements offer exciting rewards for players willing to invest the time, although the climb to unlock the best rewards is tough. Additionally, a durable health system has meaningful consequences for players who fail to overcome many of Extraction’s challenges by taking on the operator’s injuries from one game to another. However, Rainbow Six Siege casts a significant shadow, and despite its best efforts, Ubisoft’s newest shooter struggles to appear fully beneath it.
The extraction is technically well done. It is polished and interesting. I don’t find it nearly as engaging as the shooter it shoots, though. Even in the most exciting levels, I can’t help but wish I could play Rainbow Six Siege. Each infiltration in Extraction starts out like a battle in Siege. Your team selects operators and loads their gear, then prepares to battle an onslaught of AI enemies across four brand new locations: New York City, San Francisco, Alaska, or New York City. Truth and Consequences – that is a real town in New Mexico. These maps are divided into several submaps that provide rich coverage and verticality, although none of them are particularly memorable beyond a few exceptions. More interesting locations, like UFO-themed dioramas or abandoned casinos, are covered with parasite nests and black slime textures, making them hard to remember.
You and your team complete a random selection of objectives in each area. These range from stealth-based challenges like Biopsy, which requires you to sample alien tissue with a knife, to attack-oriented targets like Hunt and Decontamination, which act as standard murder missions that are still somewhat satisfying. Siege fans may recognize missions like Sabotage and Rescue, which mirror the Bombing and Hostage modes in Siege. My favorite target type is Specimen, which asks your team to lure one of the powerful Archaeans – parasitic antagonists that plague the dark corridors of all environments – into a trap to capture. it. This target is hilarious, and my teammates and I often laugh when one unlucky person has to be bait.
Stoppers separate each city’s three sub-maps, acting as safehouses filled with supplies like medical kits and (hopefully) ammunition. The deeper your team dives into the invasion, the harder it will be to successfully exploit as the enemies become increasingly difficult and varied, from low-level growls to fearsome giants capable of piercing holes. wall. I like the variety, but you’ll have to increase the difficulty level to meet the best ones. If you manage to fight your way through all three zones, you’ll earn extra experience, unlocking perks like increased movement speed or new abilities like Sledge’s charged hammer swing. . These operator advancements are the highlight of Extraction’s progress loop and I want to keep playing to get them. You also get new operators, gear, and cosmetics through leveling up the player by completing level-specific matches and challenges. While there are fun bonuses to unlock, and I appreciate the operator-specific upgrades, in particular, progression generally seems unnecessarily slow.
Each weapon handles differently, but I like to use them all equally. The silencer rifle is my go-to weapon. They trade off raw stopping power for the ability to do sporadic kills on all types of Archaeans. Shotguns can reliably blow enemies – and walls – to pieces but attract a lot of attention. Extraction also introduces stealth kills, offering a distinct method for accomplishing your goals when ammo and health are scarce. Nothing feels better than quietly clearing a perimeter with your team. However, the game doesn’t deliver enough when you’re in danger of being spotted, so my subtle attempts often turn into panic-laden penalty shootouts.
While Extraction borrows heavily from Siege, it introduces a new feature that I love: enduring operator health. Let’s say you previously played as the Vigil and exited the mission with only four health. In that case, he will start the next game injured unless you let him recover by completing travels as other characters. Depending on your performance, some operators may be injured, or even worse, go missing until you rescue them on another mission. This system encouraged me to experiment with operators across the list, leading to encounters with empty-handed men.
Rainbow Six Extraction transforms much of Siege’s content library into an accessible co-op shooter that offers an intense environment for players of all skill levels. However, in a series of industry-defining successes, this installment feels extremely secure and noticeably less appealing than its predecessor.
