Seige the day.
Rainbow Six, or rather, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six, is a franchise that has been around for over twenty years, and honestly, not many active franchises can really make that claim. The tactical team-based franchise has certainly had some highs as well as some lows, and Ubisoft has done a fantastic job at making Rainbow Six: Siege a vastly popular entry in the series. What makes its latest entry, Extraction, such an interesting case for being included in this franchise is that while it has all the trappings of a typical Rainbow Six game, it also throws us a most surprising curveball for the franchise; Aliens.
I’ll be honest, when I first checked out Rainbow Six: Extraction via its debut trailer, I was every bit convinced that this was Ubisoft’s attempt at some sort of Left 4 Dead game, considering everyone and their dog seemed to be getting in on that proven formula. And, right up until I loaded the game up for review, I was still convinced that was what I was about to experience. Shockingly; however, that is not really the case as while we have traces of that formula here, this still feels very much like a Tom Clancy game through and through. If Siege was the training program for these Operatives, then Extraction is meant to be their endgame. While the game features nowhere near the cast currently found in Siege, it leaves ample room for this title to grow, and honestly, I really hope it does.
Extraction is a damn fun experience despite a few flaws that can, and often will, get in the way of the fun. Some of this is easily solved with some quality of life enhancements and/or patches to address a few key things such as enemy visibility, or the inability to even open windows, something that feels bizarrely excluded given the stealth nature of the franchise. However; from a mechanical and gameplay point of view, Extraction feels far more polished and engaging than I was expecting, and the experience is better for it. Granted, the team has likely pulled shooting and gameplay assets directly in from Siege, making this almost feel more like a large-scale expansion than a full standalone game. However, this does allow Extraction to play at its very best and go in its own direction away from Siege, so I'll take the trade-off if it means a better overall experience.
Loosely based around the Rainbow Six: Siege limited-time event called Outbreak, Extraction is built around the survival of humanity against an alien threat called the Archaeans. You play as one of several Operators under the moniker of REACT (Rainbow Exogenous Analysis and Containment Team), even if that acronym feels like they simply HAD to call it REACT and settled on whatever would match up for its letters. The remainder of the backstory states that a Russian Soyuz capsule crashed and triggered an epidemic in New Mexico, causing an unknown pathogen to then infect someone who was known then as Patient Zero. This pathogen was later codenamed the Chimera Parasite and it had then spread to different regions around the world. This Parasite causes extreme mutations in its hosts and offers a wide range of monstrous forms with various abilities due to different biological factors.
Periodically, you’ll have a cutscene or two that details more of that story, including one specifically for starting the game as a solo player. I do wish; however, that this story was more than what it is given how interesting it can initially come across. I enjoy the few characters they've created here, as well as their voice acting and overall presentation, but apart from a small handful of said cutscenes, there just isn't much here to sink your teeth into other than some generic codex entries. Being light on story is typical of the horde-style genre, I just wish that Extraction would have been the exception to the rule given this is a Tom Clancy game where its foundation is built on a fantastical series of deep involving narratives.
As a member of REACT, you’ll respond to the threat through four hot zones; New York City, San Francisco, Alaska, and right where it all began; Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Each zone has three locations that in turn have three districts between them. Each district is separated by a sealed quarantine chamber that acts as a loading hub between locations. These safe zones are often empty, packed with a few equipment boxes and some health boosters, but occasionally you'll find them occupied with various threats. So if you're on the run from a pack of Archaeans hot on your tail, well, you may want to be a tad bit cautious as to what is behind that pressurized door before you haul ass inside.
Rainbow Six Extraction has a simple gameplay loop. You’ll choose from one of eighteen Operators, outfit them with gear that will benefit your mission objectives, and then load into a starting location in one of four available hot zones. You’ll complete your objective and then head into the next zone. Should you be low on health and want to bank your available XP, you can retreat to an extraction zone and leave the mission. And, unlike Back 4 Blood, you’ll be made aware of the objectives in advance of choosing your Operator, ensuring you are able to pick the right one for the job at hand. Objectives range from holding down key areas of the map while you contend with floods of Archaeans, rescuing personnel and taking them to the extraction zone, or using various tools to contend with Archaean pods as you either plant tracking modules into them, or deal with mutated hybrids. Apart from those that trigger an onslaught of enemies, most objectives can be done discreetly, and objectives can be skipped over in favor of playing it safe. Nearly everything you do from killing unsuspecting Archaeans to destroying nests garners you XP, so missing out on an objective because it may be too challenging will still result in XP earning, but only if you make it out alive.
Losing an Operator in a mission or even taking damage to your core health has lasting implications for future missions. While you can apply boosters to your core health amount, since you cannot replenish it during a mission, any damage you take below that temporary boost will need to be earned back by completing objectives with another Operator on a future excursion. Should your Operator fall in combat, you’ll be covered in a protective substance to prevent any sort of mutation. Should your co-op partner fail to recover your body before they leave the mission, you’ll have to prep another mission into that zone and pull them free from a mutated husk of a tree, shooting nearby pods that have connected lines to hold the body in place. On harder difficulties, I found those areas to rarely be free of enemies, making the rescue attempt that much more intense. Failing in the mission and that of the rescue attempt can see a pretty sizable XP loss and I’ve lost a progression level because of that failure. Had I survived and freed them, I would have earned back that XP, keeping my level and progression intact.
As you complete objectives and rack up the kills, the Operators you use will gain experience. And, since fallen or injured Operators are unavailable until they are healed up and fit for duty, you’ll want to plan on having a backup for your backup that you are comfortable with. As you push through the game, more Operators will become available as you hit certain milestones as you progress. These milestones unlock new levels as well as new skins and equipment. Think of it like a free battle pass as its UI is very similar to one. Each Operator also has their own progression system that can see a boost in their movement speed, to faster reloading, and being able to take more damage. Each Operator maxes out at level 10 and features a few skins along that path. This boost in stats can prepare you for harder difficulties where you’ll have more variants of Archaeans to contend with, to some unique objectives specifically for the harder challenge, but more on that later.
Each of the Operators you have access to has a variety of weaponry and equipment that sets them apart from one another, with a key ability that may make certain objectives easier to complete. From Doc’s healing stim pistol to Alibi’s decoys, you’ll find an unique usefulness to much of the roster. While some of Siege’s most popular are still yet to find their way here, it’s only a matter of time before this current crop of Operators grows. Of the current cast, I found Ela to be rather good for stunning groups of enemies with her proximity mines, which came in handy whenever any of my friends chose Tachanka, as they would set up the mounted LMG to hit them while they were in a daze. Rook was a solid addition for giving out armor when we needed it, as was having Hibana, a personal favorite of mine, line the exits with remote charges, letting them blast when anyone got too close. While there are a few Operators I’ve yet to really sink my teeth into, the current offering is pretty damn impressive as it stands.
The Archaeans themselves are not the most original threats we’ve seen in gaming, but they do look damn cool due to a strong aesthetic in the visuals. You have your standard grunts to the more involved Spiker, which is a slightly more interesting variation that can fire armor-piercing projectiles. Then there are the Bloaters and the Breachers, which are green and red versions of an exploding type that can cause some significant damage if they sneak up on you, and they will. There is also the Rooter, performing a hulk smash on the ground and letting loose a trail of spikes that hold you in place. The Tormentor can shift into the ground, appearing almost out of nowhere, and had it not been for a handy little field wall grenade, I would have lost an Operator and instead saw its projectiles bounce off of it, allowing me to stun it and go in for the melee kill. There are a few other Archaean’s to encounter, some that are bigger and more threatening, but every one of them has some sort of red glowing area to shoot for a pretty easy kill, it’s just finding the space to fire a shot directly at it that can prove to be an issue if you’re getting swarmed.
While I really enjoy the shooting mechanics and intensity that the game offers, sometimes in darker locations, it can be rather difficult to make out many of the Archaeans that are approaching, and even that of those that are sneaking up on you. While there are some UI elements of showing nearby footsteps, there is nothing visually present during a swarm of enemies around you. There is no mini-map with red dots, making it sometimes unclear just where every enemy is. This led to Bloaters and Breachers taking out our whole team, or Rooters flanking us and holding us in place while a Smasher cut loose through our party. I don’t mind the difficulty, I just wish the game provided better UI or tools to allow us the chance to engage with the enemy in a way where we could actually see them. I think the game is set up to allow for that eventually, I just wish it had better ways to visually let us know what is around us at all times, given how death can set you back considerably if you fail.
Each of the multiple zones offered here is a maze in its own design but offers a great deal of freedom in how to navigate most spaces. I’ve entered some locations well over thirty times and always found new paths to take as the objectives are often all over the place. Now, granted, the extraction zones and doors are always in the same general places, so you’ll consistently visit those areas to extract out or push on, but the objective locations themselves vary up so often that you’ll start to learn the in’s and out’s of each location in a way that makes running away from enemies less about getting lost and more about using the environment to properly escape. Certain walls can be shot through for a quick clean kill, and while you can’t open windows to quietly climb through them for some reason, there is almost always multiple ways to reach your destination, especially since you don’t suffer any fall damage.
From a visual standpoint, Extraction can be a damn good-looking game with some wonderful art direction and use of color. The bright yellow presence of the REACT force mixes perfectly with the black and alien substance that is leftover from various kills, and when a nest gives birth to an Archaean. This sludge will slow your movement but can be shot or melee attacked away easily, although, maybe don’t clear it with a loud rifle. There is a laser you can unlock later on that you can swap from the UV light that allows you to see the heat of an Archaean through the wall and then burn away at the sludge all quiet-like. Each of the locations really stands out and offers up a combination of some solid indoor and outdoor locations.
As you start to get used to which Archaeans are which and how to put them down, you’ll put a lot of that information to work with the Studies that are assigned to each location. Each hot zone has nearly thirty secondary objectives that range from killing certain enemies, using specific menu systems, to using specialized equipment to defeat your foe, and each will grant you a hefty sum of experience and a few other items. While some of them are easy enough, such as pinging supply chests or using the in-game non-verbal chat system, some of them become much harder with having to kill Tormentors with explosions or hitting the weak point of a Smasher or even just leaping out of the way of one. The Studies are optional, but contribute a lot to leveling up your characters and giving you something to work towards.
While several aspects of Extraction are built around a more stealth focused approach, a great deal of this game’s action elements do ramp up considerably when you start to see your Operators max out at level 10 with a few activities that are meant for late-stage gameplay, or part of what you'll find waiting for you through some of the harder difficulties. While a solid portion of the game is built for stealth, these activities are meant for an action-only flavor. First are the Protean fights, which occur on the second difficulty and higher. These stage three fights begin with you interacting with a portal that then transports to you a new location where you’ll take on an Archaean that has taken the form of one of three Operators. While it’s a shame that only the person who kills it gets the achievement, you can snag a pretty gnarly weapon charm for defeating it. You’ll also unlock Assignments, which are a weekly event that has specific conditions placed upon it to up the challenge for you and your party.
Then there is the Maelstrom Protocol, which may be the mode that ends up defining this game. This is a mode that ramps up the challenge for every three objectives you tackle out of a total of nine, instead of the standard three you have in the core game. You’ll also have to make due from a selection of six preset Operators during the weekly rotation, so hopefully, you’ve been working on those backups. What is interesting about this mode is that you can actually earn REACT credits here, which is the paid currency you can buy in the shop, meaning that you can earn those pricey cosmetics strictly from a gameplay source. This mode is how you’ll work through the remaining progression milestones as you’ll top out at around 12-13 from just playing the core game without too much repetition. The Maelstrom Protocol; however, is unlocked at level 16 and will be a mode that will test your communications skills just as much as your ability to stay alive.
Rainbow Six: Extraction can be a damn fun time depending on where you’re finding your fun with it. I will say that playing this game exclusively through random matchmaking is likely going to make you hate your time with it, but solo or with friends is where this game shines. I do wish that it was easier to see nearby threats in some of the darker locations, but it’s not really a dealbreaker for me or something that made me hate my time with it. The shooting and gadgets you have here combined with the abilities that each Operator brings with them is solid and makes for a great deal of fun if you can manage the flood of Archaeans and the difficulty the game throws at you. Extraction may feel like it pulls a bit too much from Siege to be its own game, but the depth to its core systems and features really does make it feel like a whole new beast.
Tom Clancy’s Rainbox Six: Extraction is also available on Xbox and PC Game Pass.
Developer - Ubisoft Montreal. Publisher - Ubisoft. Released - January 20th, 2022. Available On - Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4/5, Stadia, Amazon Luna, Windows. Rated - (M) Blood, Drug Reference, Strong Language, Violence.
Platform Reviewed - Xbox Series X. Review Access - A review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.