Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® Extraction Review Summary

Fun, tactical, and accessible PvE: The game offers enjoyable and accessible PvE gameplay, blending stealth and action with tactical elements. It's praised for its fun factor, strategic depth, and suitability for both solo and co-op play, often drawing favorable comparisons to Rainbow Six Siege while providing a distinct experience.

Visually appealing and immersive: The game is visually appealing, featuring detailed graphics, atmospheric environments, and well-designed cutscenes. The aesthetic quality enhances the overall immersive experience.

Rewarding stealth-focused gameplay: Stealth is a crucial and enjoyable element, offering varied gameplay options and encouraging tactical coordination. The game rewards strategic approaches and careful planning, even on lower difficulties.

Positive co-op community: The game fosters a positive community environment, making it enjoyable to play with friends or random teammates. Players report finding skilled and cooperative partners through matchmaking.

Engaging risk-reward mission structure: The game's risk-reward system, with escalating difficulty and the potential for operators to go MIA, adds tension and strategic depth to each mission. Players must carefully balance the desire for greater rewards with the risk of failure.

Repetitive gameplay, lacks content: The core gameplay loop becomes repetitive quickly due to recycled content, limited mission variety, and uninspired level design. Many reviewers express boredom and a lack of long-term engagement, especially after the initial leveling phase. This is exacerbated by the perception that the game lacks depth and sufficient content for its price, leading to a shallow and grindy experience.

Abandoned; no further updates: The game has been abandoned by the developers and will no longer receive updates, bug fixes, or new content. This lack of ongoing support has led to a decline in the player base and limits the game's long-term potential. Many reviewers feel that the game was released in an incomplete state and that its potential was wasted.

Low player count; matchmaking issues: The game suffers from a low player count, resulting in long matchmaking times and difficulty finding teammates. This issue is compounded by unstable servers and poor matchmaking quality, leading to frustration and making certain game modes unplayable. The game is more of a single-player experience due to low player counts, despite being designed as a multiplayer game.

Inferior to Rainbow Six Siege: Reviewers feel that the game is inferior to Rainbow Six Siege and should have been a DLC instead of a standalone title. The game reuses many elements from Siege without adding enough new content or unique operators. Some reviewers were misled by the name and expected a similar experience to Siege.

Crashes, bugs, server issues: The game suffers from frequent crashes, server issues, and performance problems on PC. These technical issues can severely impact the player experience and make the game unplayable at times. Some reviewers also noted the high difficulty of the game, especially for new players.

Mission-based PvE gameplay loop: The core gameplay loop involves selecting an operator and a map, then completing a series of three sub-missions with escalating difficulty. These missions typically involve rescuing VIPs, collecting samples, destroying nests, or defending objectives, emphasizing a mix of stealth and tactical combat.

Unique operators with progression: Players choose from a roster of operators, each possessing unique abilities and gadgets that can be upgraded through progression. Operators can be injured or captured during missions, requiring players to manage their roster and adapt their strategies.

Reuses Rainbow Six Siege elements: The game reuses many elements from Rainbow Six Siege, including operators with modified abilities, gunplay mechanics, destructible environments, and the Siege engine itself. This provides a familiar experience for Siege players but may feel somewhat derivative.

Tactical gameplay and stealth focus: The game emphasizes tactical gameplay, rewarding careful planning, stealth, and coordinated teamwork. Players are encouraged to use stealth mechanics, recon drones, and character abilities to overcome objectives while minimizing damage.

Specific gameplay tips provided: Reviewers suggest specific loadouts and tactics, such as using suppressed weapons, prioritizing headshots, and utilizing tools like UV lights and stun grenades. These tips can help players optimize their gameplay and overcome challenges.

Generally good optimization and performance: The game generally exhibits good optimization and a stable frame rate, allowing for smooth gameplay on various systems. Some players specifically noted the game runs well even on ultra settings, while others had to resort to playing on consoles due to PC limitations.

Server instability and disconnections: Some players have reported server instability, disconnections, and timeouts, which can disrupt gameplay and progress tracking. The stability seems to vary by region, with some servers being more reliable than others.

Comfortable shadow HDR implementation: The game's shadow HDR implementation is visually comfortable, especially for players using bright screens. This feature reduces eye strain and enhances the overall visual experience.

UPLAY workaround for connection failures: A specific workaround involving switching the accelerator to UPLAY and back has been reported to resolve connection issues. This suggests a potential problem with the game's initial connection process.

Purchase only when on sale: The most common recommendation is to only buy the game on sale. Many reviewers feel the full price isn't justified due to the game's age, lack of updates, and repetitive gameplay. Some suggest waiting for deep discounts or free trials.

Best experienced with friends: Many reviewers suggest that the game is significantly more enjoyable, or even only worth playing, with friends. Matchmaking issues and the need for coordination make solo play less appealing. Some reviewers explicitly advise against buying the game if you don't have friends to play with.

Lacks updates and support: A recurring concern is the lack of updates and perceived abandonment by Ubisoft. Reviewers express disappointment that the game isn't receiving new content or bug fixes, leading to a repetitive experience. Some express hope for future support but remain skeptical.

Repetitive, short-lived experience: Several reviewers feel the game quickly becomes repetitive due to a lack of content, variety, and worthwhile rewards. This leads to a short-lived experience that doesn't justify the purchase price for some. Some reviewers feel the game is already dead.

Good for Rainbow Six fans: Some reviewers recommend the game to fans of Rainbow Six Siege, particularly those who enjoy the tactical gameplay and operator mode. They see it as a solid spin-off or a unique experience within the Rainbow Six universe. Some reviewers found the game more enjoyable than Siege.

Rainbow Six Siege spin-off: The game is a PvE spin-off of Rainbow Six Siege, originating from the popular 'Outbreak' event. It features operators from Siege and expands on the lore with details about alien parasites invading Earth. Prior knowledge of Siege isn't required to enjoy Extraction.

Potential not fully realized: Some reviewers acknowledge the game's creative potential and boldness, expressing that it could have been special with continued development. They recommend researching and trying the game before buying, as opinions vary.

Co-op focused, cross-play support: The game is designed for co-op play and supports cross-play, with an active matchmaking system. Additionally, each purchase includes friend tokens that allow two friends to play the game for free for 14 days, provided they team up with the token provider.

Poor world-building/writing: Some reviewers found the game's world-building and writing to be weak, citing excessive use of the 'REACT' prefix, a silly premise involving viruses in airlocks, and cringeworthy military jargon used by NPCs.

Limited initial operators, grindy unlocks: The game initially restricts players to a limited set of nine operators, requiring a leveling grind to unlock the remaining characters. Unlocking operators and locations primarily unlocks cosmetic items.