R6: Extraction
I was looking forward to this game quite a bit because I wanted to sink my teeth into a more tactical “zombies” experience when compared to something like Call of Duty Zombies. Before we get into it, I want to mention that this game is a $40 game so while I was excited, I went into it with a little bit of tempered expectations. I feel like nowadays people will hate a game if it's not an instant masterpiece that also pays for your monthly rent. I feel like this game doesn't deserve to get the hate that was thrown its way.. But there is a catch! Let's get into it
Going into the game, I was very excited about this because I felt the barrier of entry to play Rainbow 6 Siege was so high because the player base is just SO good now that it makes it difficult to progress as a new player. With extraction being a PvE game, I was optimistic that I would be able to enjoy the rainbow six siege without sweaty lobbies. Plus the ability to play with 2 other friends made it a zombie-like game that i was looking forward to experiencing
For those that are not familiar with how this game came to be, Ubisoft created a limited time event in Rainbow Six Siege back in 2015. There was enough positive feedback from the event that Ubisoft decided to make a game out of it, thus giving us Rainbow Six: Extraction.
The game doesn’t have much of a story outside of the fact that a parasite is taking over cities like New York, San Francisco, and Alaska to name a few. Your goal is to drop in for a field run with a group of 3 operators, albeit random players or friends. Each run has 3 phases with a randomized objective per phase. Most objectives revolve around eliminating specific targets, securing areas, or getting bio samples from the monsters. There are 12 random objectives in total and as you progress through each phase, you have the option to extract from the location with your earned XP before starting the next phase. The further you go in each phase will yield better rewards and more experience. There’s a big catch though. If you die out in the field and your teammates can’t revive you, then you’re enveloped in a plasma cocoon where your teammates now have to extract you to save you. However, In the event that everyone dies, each of your operators is now “MIA '' in that level and you’ll have to make another run to rescue your fallen comrades. This mechanic was a great way to add stakes to each run and also make you weigh as a team if you want to proceed to the next phase or take your winnings and run. If you successfully retrieve your fallen character, then you get XP and can use that specific character again, but if you fail to retrieve them you take a character XP hit and then get the character back.
In total there are 18 operators to choose from, with all of them having specific abilities tailored to them. As you play the game and do more runs, you find what characters you like as well as which characters synergize best with each other. This is where the tactical depth of the game comes into play because you can mix and match so many abilities and equipment pieces to try and give your team a versatile kit to work with. There are 24 gadgets in total ranging from crowd control to high explosives. With this type of gadget diversity, it’s important to communicate with your team during this time to ensure that you’re creating a cohesive squad. On top of the gadgets, and operator specific abilities, you are given a decent amount of gun attachment options that you can tailor towards more of a stealth build or a loud and proud build.
Where i have issues with this game is how you progress through the game to unlock more characters and maps. You’re given challenges and tasks called “research” and they’re often mini objectives you have to complete while out on the field. What I didn't like about them is that often it would force you to play into a playstyle that doesn't necessarily benefit the team and could cause problems on your runs. If you have someone off doing their thing to complete challenges, it creates a risk for wiping the team. This can be frustrating because your teammate is sometimes just trying to accomplish what the game is telling them to do. Furthermore, you cannot double check these research tasks while in the game, which was puzzling and frustrating that you have to take a mental note on tracking 3 different research objectives.
In regards to difficulty, it doesn’t compare to Rainbow Six Siege and the sweating that comes with that game. This is a great entry point for those curious about the tactical side of Rainbow Six games without getting demolished by ridiculously good players. Having it be PvE gives it a great entry point for non-siege fans, but this drop in difficulty will frustrate Rainbow Six Siege veterans. You can ramp up the difficulty as you go, but for those accustomed to tactical games already, you’ll likely find this game less challenging than your tactical shooters like Siege or Insurgency. From the jump it becomes very clear that you’re only as strong as your weakest link. I don't mean necessarily weakest in skill, but weakest in coordination. If you don’t stay together or communicate throughout, then you will get punished. It doesn't feel like a game that is brutally punishing like Dark Souls or even Rainbow Six Siege, but if your teammate wanders off, there’s a really good chance that shit is going to hit the fan.
This game plays nothing like a Call of Duty zombies game, thank god, and is a much more methodical approach when going through these runs. That doesn’t necessarily mean going slow throughout, but rather always having a plan when entering unknown rooms. Extraction throws enough random chaos at you that Plan A can often get derailed and having some planning ahead of time will often save your team from wiping. These plans don't have to be elaborate, but having simple plans with full buy-in from the team will lead to solid execution and success. For example, a common call that me and my friends would have would be “alright i'll take the far side of the room and work back towards you, if either of us has to go loud then we focus the nests down first ''. By having plans going into these fights it made the game feel rewarding and exciting when your squad crushes the execution.
In regards to replayability, there are TONS of it as each run is never the same and you often are always running different combinations of operators. This helps keep things from getting stale, especially when you land a mission with one of the bosses. The boss fights are chaotic and will test not only your mechanical skills, but also your team cohesion. There are plenty of additional cosmetics and weapon ornaments to unlock as well to show off your operators and stand out from the squad.
I personally really enjoy this game, especially at the $40 price point and being available on Gamepass for Xbox and PC. This game for me serves as the perfect supplemental game to whatever else I'm playing throughout the weeks. It's not a game that will be my main game and play it every day, but is a great game to squeeze a solid hour of high stakes gaming in with your friends. With that being said, my review comes with one very very important caveat. If you do not have 1-2 friends that you know will play this game with you, DO NOT GET IT. The experience is night and day when playing with friends versus random players. I'm not saying that you wont get good random players, but it's about the communication and trust aspect. When you play with your friends, you know there will be communication, and you also know what kind of style your friends usually play and you can be cognizant of that. When playing with randoms, I don't know if Brad likes to play stealth or go loud and I can't find out because he doesn’t have a mic. Next thing you know you’re getting jumped by a squad of grunts and Brad is lying prone in the other room and you have no idea why. This experience and game is shaped completely by who you play with, and I'm two feet in with my friends and two feet out with randoms.
Overall, Extraction is a fun and challenging game that requires top notch communication to succeed, especially at the higher difficulties. It's the perfect game to have fun with your friends and leave you feeling accomplished after successful runs. The game throws plenty of variety at you each run that it doesn't get stale while also providing tactical depth to keep you trying new operator builds. If you plan on playing with randoms, save yourself the headache and skip this game, but if you have a couple friends also interested in the game, then it's time for y’all to squad up and get out in the field!
