SHOULD’VE STAYED IN QUARANTINE...

Of all of Ubisoft’s series, Rainbow Six is probably the one that needs the least reinvention. Looking at its success since 2015 thanks to Siege, which is still supported by the community and players to this day, it’s strange to see such a different approach through this multiplayer PvE spin-off with Rainbow Six Extraction. R6 is a franchise that always had a grounded tactical approach that was closer to reality with its structure, so why would the developers introduce such a supernatural concept involving aliens this time around? Honestly, I’m not even sure I’ll be able to answer that question with my review because, as much as Extraction brings an interesting dynamic to the series and that its core idea is pretty good, I can’t help but think that this was such an unnecessary entry for the Tom Clancy-inspired franchise. It is one that does give a good first impression, especially if you’re familiar with the recipe introduced by Siege, but ends up being a repetitive experience that has no real sense of weight to it.

Even though you can experience the majority of its content alone (which I did 90% of the time during this review process), this is a game that shines the most when you experience its 3–player co-op potential. Just like Siege, Extraction puts a particular emphasis on teamwork and coordination to complete your objectives instead of simply shooting anything that moves. You can clearly run-n-gun your way through some sections, but you’ll quickly realize that it is an incredibly ineffective approach. This spin-off focusses a lot more on stealth as you can get overwhelmed pretty quickly by the alien enemies (named Archaeans) which can cause an alert if you are not sneaky enough. All of this translates into the overall goal of Rainbow Six Extraction in uncovering the secrets of these creatures by completing specific studies (which are sort of mini challenges) while also completing certain objectives in the four main regions that are offered in the game. So yes, there is a small narrative aspect in Extraction that adds some intrigue regarding the Archaean threat, but not remotely enough for the players to invest themselves into the universe this spin-off introduces. And this is one of my biggest problems with Extraction, after going through the majority of its content, is the lack of any kind of satisfaction brought by what you are doing in the game. The absence of a cohesive direction in this spin-off makes you feel like you’re essentially just checking off objectives from a specific list to move on to the next, and even that, becomes redundant extremely fast.      

That’s not to say that everything is BAD in Rainbow Six Extraction; there are a lot of great ideas that are brought in this spin-off to make it stand on its own versus other typical PvE FPS games. As its title suggests, extracting, aka exiting a zone after completing your objective, takes a lot of space in the overall structure of the game, adding a particular risk vs reward dynamic to its approach. Each region contains three zones to explore which are also divided in three parts with their own objectives that reward you with a set amount of XP. Sometimes, you’ll have to take down a specific enemy, while other times you’ll have to tag Archaean pods (where they respawn) to gather intel on the creatures. These are all determined randomly while starting up an incursion, so you never really know specifically what’s waiting for you inside a zone, but are overly simplistic and uninteresting once you put it all into perspective. 

That being said, if you think that you’re not up for the challenge that is waiting for you later in your incursion, you have the choice to simply extract yourself from your location and end the mission to bank your XP without any problem. This is an approach that is very similar to the one present in games of the Roguelike/Roguelite genre and Extraction showcases it in a good way; at least in its initial moments. There is this constant evaluation that is present as you go through your incursions that questions if you should push on through or retreat to secure your completed objectives. All of this influences another interesting mechanic that is brought in with Extraction that involves the loss of your operators. 

Just like Rainbow Six Siege, operators are at the forefront of Extraction with multiple different abilities and classes that impact your approach through the incursions. This isn’t anything extraordinary considering they each use the same skills as the previous entry, but can still switch your map interaction or team dynamic around in multiplayer. There are 18 familiar faces (for now) at your disposal that can be upgraded through 10 different levels, which means you’ll have to gather a whole lot of XP to reach each one’s true potential. That being said, the reason why Extraction has such a big roster of characters is because you may actually lose some of them throughout your playthrough. Don’t worry, this isn’t something that is permanent, however if you are unable to successfully extract because of a swarm of Archaeans, your operator will be trapped inside the zone and will have to be rescued during a subsequent incursion with a different character. This is the culmination point of the risk vs. reward structure I was talking about earlier because it can completely change how you encounter your next incursion. Unfortunately, this concept can be easily exploited and countered once you understand how Extraction works, as you can simply lower the difficulty of the zone (there are also four different difficulty modes for each zone), speedrun through the incursion in just a couple of minutes to secure your operator and pick back up where you left off previously. Ultimately, this completely destroys the risk vs. reward element that makes the game unique and is more irritating than anything else by having your restart an incursion just to save your operator…

This is, by far, the thing that annoys me the most out of Rainbow Six Extraction; it’s that despite its excellent presentation that follows naturally what is present in Siege, there is just a significant lack of substance and longevity within this game. I’m not kidding, there is literally no reason to play Extraction after completing its first region as you'll do the same thing pretty much for the rest of the game; with the same enemies and same objectives that don’t give you any sense of accomplishment. Extraction’s best aspects are the ones that are borrowed from Siege; its operators system, satisfying tactical gunplay and teamwork strengthened by your squad. Every single nuance introduced in Extraction has so much potential, but is never able translate itself into something impactful. There is simply way too much emphasis on repetition and not enough on player progression in this game. Even its end-game content is only a weekly remixing of the same places and objectives you’ve already accomplished, but with harder enemies… It’s just not a sustainable model for games in 2022. 

VERDICT

It’s hard to recommend Rainbow Six Extraction when there are plenty of games that have more impact than what it offers. Is there some fun to be had with this PvE spin-off? Totally! It’s a nice distraction for a couple of hours and can be really fun with friends, but it’s incredibly empty once you’ve figured out all of its nuances. If it wasn’t for its Game Pass offering, there wouldn’t be a lot of reasons to invest time in Rainbow Six Extraction.

Pros:

• Takes the Best Elements of Rainbow Six Siege

• Better Experience in Multiplayer

Cons:

• Lack of Significant Direction

• Too Repetitive

• Mechanical Potential Underutilized

Final Score: 6.5/10

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Extraction is available Xbox Series, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 & PC. It is also available through Xbox Game Pass on PC and Console. This review was written with both the PC and Xbox Series X versions of the game.