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Playing «Rainbow Six Extraction»: who is this game for?

19.1.2022

Translation: Patrik Stainbrook

The new co-op tactical shooter «Rainbow Six Extraction» swaps out human opponents for aliens. The usual «Rainbow Six Siege » operators remain. Does it work?

I admit I’ve only played «Rainbow Six Extraction» for a few hours. Ideally, I would’ve already stopped just after the tutorial. Sadly, my doubts only grew: who is this game designed for? Like its namesake «Rainbow Six Siege», it relies on a wide range of playable operators. These special units now even have individual levelling systems allowing for customisation. Unlike the popular e-sports title, however, you don’t play against human opponents. In two respects: «Rainbow Six Extraction» has you playing against AI-controlled aliens. Instead of defusing bombs or freeing hostages, it’s mostly about extracting… stuff. In other words, lots of rescue and collection missions.

Sometimes it’s about taking out a specific alien, other times you have to free a fellow Martian.

The backstory has about as much depth as «Independence Day». A meteor released a foreign parasite, infecting anything it comes in contact with. Unfortunately, the protagonists are generic mannequins and can’t mask the lackadaisical story with the charm of a Will Smith or Jeff Goldblum.

Three missions for the price of one

Alone or in teams of up to three players, you’ll complete extraction missions in locations such as New York, San Francisco or Alaska. Levels always consist of three sections separated by locks. The further you venture, the more difficult they become. But your loot will be all the sweeter for it. At extraction points, you can leave the level at any time. Enemies consist of a number of aliens with different special abilities. Most of the time it pays to proceed quietly and kill enemies discreetly. As soon as an alien sounds the alarm, things get uncomfortable.

If you fall victim to the monsters, that operator will stay behind in the level. Before you can play then in your area again, you must evacuate them. A fallen operator automatically becomes a mission target on your next trip.

Operators have different weapons and special abilities.

Aliens are no substitute for human opponents

The levels have a similar open structure as in Rainbow Six Siege and offer different paths that you can take. Without human opponents, however, they simply lack any incentive. The missions aren’t particularly exciting and using operators against computer opponents almost feels like a waste. These PVE missions (Player vs. Environment) already feel like warm-up exercises for actual multiplayer matches in «Siege».

The game was originally called «Rainbow Six Quarantine». A name obviously chosen before the current Corona pandemic, and dropped accordingly quickly thereafter. Thinking about it now, I’m pretty sure that’s how I’ll feel about this game generally. Sure, you can have fun together with two friends. Thing is, there are plenty of good co-op games out there, and Extraction just doesn’t have much to draw me in after the first few hours. The fact that it’ll be included in Xbox Game Pass at launch is also telling. But maybe it’s just me, and Ubisoft has its next long-running hit on its hands. Still, I’d put it in the «Ghost Recon Breakpoint» category.

Ubisoft Rainbow Six Extraction (PS5, Multilingual)

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Ubisoft Rainbow Six Extraction

PS5, Multilingual

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CHF8.59

Ubisoft Rainbow Six Extraction

Xbox Series X, Multilingual

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Ubisoft Rainbow Six: Extraction

PS4, Multilingual

Video games

Ubisoft Rainbow Six: Extraction

Xbox One X, Xbox Series X, Multilingual

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Philipp Rüegg

Senior Editor

Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.ch

As a child, I wasn't allowed to have any consoles. It was only with the arrival of the family's 486 PC that the magical world of gaming opened up to me. Today, I'm overcompensating accordingly. Only a lack of time and money prevents me from trying out every game there is and decorating my shelf with rare retro consoles.

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