After a relative slow start at launch,Rainbow Six Siegehas quickly become a juggernaut for Ubisoft, both in terms of popularity and sales. Thanks to continued support, a healthy esports scene, and five years ofpost-launch content including the recently revealed operator Thunderbird,Siegedoes not appear to have an end in sight.
However, for longtimeRainbow Sixfans,Siegerepresents a major departure from the traditional gameplay revolving around tactical, squad based first person action in favor of character abilities and tense multiplayer action. For those hoping to see the series to its roots, Ubisoft revealed the next mainline title in the long running franchise,Rainbow Six Extraction. While it retains many of the operators fromSiege,Extractionbrings back the PvE gameplay and tactical cooperation with a few twists on the formula.
RELATED:Rainbow Six Extraction Gameplay Video
Instead of fighting against terrorists, players are going up against an alien race known as the Archaen, who have brought a virus with them that is starting to spread. Not only that,Rainbow Six Extractionadds a layer of replayability thanks to new roguelike elements added into the gameplay.
In addition to the new focus on sci-fi,Extractionkeeps players on their toes by introducing randomized elements seen more from roguelike type experiences. For those who may be more familiar withgames likeHadesor even the recent PS5 exclusiveReturnal, roguelike games typically introduce randomized enemy encounters, powerups, level layouts, as well as the traps found within each run.
Extractionfollows a similar path here thanks to up to10 different enemy types that can appear during a mission. These range from basic enemy types like Grunts, to higher threat creatures like Smashers, Rooters, or Lurkers to name a few. It’s possible that players only run into a couple of these enemies in a mission.
Luck and RNG also has a big presence in the game not only for the enemy types that may appear in a given mission but also the mission objectives and where they appear in the map can be completely different each time. WhileRainbow Six Extractionhas 12 dedicated maps called Containment Zones, each one is divided into sub-zones which alters the order in which players experience them. Based on the order, the objective can also be changed from a possible pool of 12. These range from destroying a target, fight a boss creature, capture a point of interest and more.
What’s more is that teams don’t need to finish all three objectives. While this would earn the squad the most experience points, it also becomes extremely risky as the threat becomes greater through each zone. However, where there is risk, there’s also reward as the further the squad goes and more intel they collect, the more tech and gadgets they get access to. Theavailable gadgets inExtractionincludes things like arc mines, barricades, react lights, and more.
However, for players who don’t want to lose their spoils of war through death, the option to extracting early is available when making it to an airlock between zones. Extraction is also valuable for those who want to avoid their operator potentially being lost to the alien threat. Thenew Missing In Action mission mechanicremoves the operator from the player’s list until they are saved in a specialized mission.
The debutRainbow Six Extractiontrailer at E3 2021gave players a glimpse, where Ela, Lion, and Nomad attempted to rescued a capture Hibana from the parasite. While they tactically approached the location, things quickly spiraled out of control once Hibana had been freed, likely a sign that the end of these rescue missions will get more frantic as players look for a way out.
WhileRainbow Six Extractionbrings back the tactical gameplay of previous games, Ubisoft is hoping the randomized gameplay moments will keep players coming back for more. IfExtractionis able to follow the path forged byRainbow Six Siegeby releasing a continuous stream of content and updates, then it likely has a good chance.
Rainbow Six Extractionis scheduled to release on September 16th for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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