Originally, the new tactical shooter from Ubisoft Montreal was announced in 2019 under the name Rainbow Six Quarantine. Then came the Corona pandemic and brought not only a name change, but also several postponements for the title now called Rainbow Six Extraction.

We last had the opportunity to take a closer look at the game in mid-2021 and were curious, but not yet fully convinced. Now, shortly before the release on January 20, we were able to play Rainbow Six Extraction again for a few hours and can say: The additional development time was definitely worth it, but the shooter might still not be something for everyone.

This is what the game is about

In Rainbow Six Extraction, an alien invasion has overrun North America and is spreading with its spores and monsters called “archaea”. To fight the invaders, the special unit REACT is created, which tries to push back the aliens piece by piece.

In the game itself we get little of the story. There are some short cutscenes when we start the game or the tutorial, but we didn’t get to see any more story snippets during the missions themselves.

In Rainbow Six Extraction, we travel in teams of three. If there aren’t enough players, we should be able to use bots in the finished game. However, we can’t yet say how well the AI companions will do, since the option was still missing in our play version.

The different operators each have a special ability. Ela, for example, can throw a mine that stuns enemies.

The missions in locations like New York, San Francisco or Alaska are each divided into three areas, each with its own mission objective. We can extract at any time, and even failing one of the objectives doesn’t mean automatic game over – we only get that if all members of our team become incapacitated.

Here it is necessary to weigh together. According to the classic risk-reward system, we collect more points the further we get. But at the same time, if we make a bad run, we risk losing experience points and operators, which we then have to get back. Being cocky here can quickly bite us in the butt.

Many of the mission objectives boil down to eliminating specific enemies, but Extraction sprinkles in a bit of variety as well. Here are some of the mission objectives that we can expect:

• Hunt: Take out an elite target
• Shutdown: Obtain explosive charges and attach them to a sewing node
• Rescue: Evacuate a target
• Biopsy: Take out a specific target unnoticed with a knife
• Sample copy: Lure an elite target to the extraction point to capture it.

Despite the wide variation, of course, repetition inevitably occurs here. Even in our play session, which lasted several hours, some targets appeared twice. In addition, we unlock new maps, operators and tech only in the course of the game by means of experience points. So our choice is limited, especially at the beginning.

We have 15 minutes per mission objective, so a complete round never takes longer than 45 minutes. On the medium of the three difficulty levels, we needed an average of 20 minutes. So although the rounds are over quickly, the game still feels rather slow.

This is because methodical action is important. For example, before defending a point, it’s best to take out spawn nests in the area and set up barricades. Once the goal has been achieved, we search the map for ammunition reserves and medkits before venturing into the next section. Those who are more interested in action-packed gameplay in Extraction will probably not really get their money’s worth.

Besides the melee grunts, we also get to deal with enemies like the Bloater, which releases toxic gas, or the Lurker, which makes itself and other aliens invisible. Really nasty is the Tormentor, which can move through the ground and fire missile shells.

The economy with the operators

In addition to the regular missions, there is also the “Missing” objective. However, this only shows up after we lose an operator in combat. If a member of our three-man team goes down and can’t be brought to the extraction point by the others, the operator in question is put into stasis and remains behind. Then the character is unavailable to us until we rescue him or her.

And even if we have rescued operators, they have to recover for a few missions until their health is replenished. Only then will they be available again. Even operators we have returned from missions with can sometimes be injured and then have to sit out or go into battle with reduced life energy.

This gives the game an interesting tactical component, which ensures that we can focus on more than just our favorite operator. Moreover, each operator also has its own special ability that can give us an advantage depending on the mission type. Pulse, for example, thanks to his heartbeat sensor, is particularly suitable for missions where we have to track down nests or missing people. Ela, on the other hand, can stun enemies with her Grzmot mines, ensuring that we can also take out an alerted target with a knife. Other operators like Doc, who can heal the team, are always useful. Basically, it’s recommended to match the operators to each other and, ideally, to the different mission objectives.

In Extraction, things can also get hectic quickly if we get overrun. If we fail to bring unconscious operators to the extraction point, they are considered missing.

Thanks to the fluid gameplay and good weapon feel, the rounds in Rainbow Six Extraction play smoothly and are also quite fun in co-op. Alone with bots, however, the fun might drop noticeably, especially in the slow sections.

The various mission objectives and enemy types provide enough variety to keep us interested, at least for now, even if we would have liked a bit more story. Thanks to the short missions, there is at least a “Oh, there’s still one mission left” feeling. It remains to be seen whether this is enough for long-term motivation, but it won’t be long until our final impression.

Rainbow Six Extraction will be released on January 20, 2022 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.