Rainbow Six Extraction: Co-op shooter for real teams

Rainbow Six Siege has been a constant in the field of competitive shooters for years. But the focus on the PvP game doesn’t appeal to everyone. Therefore, the upcoming Rainbow Six Extraction tries the opposite way: Here everything is designed for team combat against AI monsters. We were able to allude to an early version.

The background story of Rainbow Six Extraction is easy to tell: A meteorite strikes the earth and brings with it a black parasite that infects New York, San Francisco and Alaska from New Mexico and causes vicious creatures called Archæans. To combat this danger, the government is assembling a special unit and sending it to the affected areas.

At the start of the game, we form a team with two other people. In the finished title you will also be able to start alone or in pairs. As in Siege, the operators are used as characters. In our demo there are nine to choose from, which can be roughly divided into classes such as support, tank and scout. Accordingly, the women and men have unique skills: Pulse uses a scanner that shows parasite nests, among other things. Sledge wields a hammer that can tear down some walls and stun enemies. Hibana fires explosive devices that adhere to all surfaces. Finka strengthens the team’s awareness and can revive comrades lying on the ground.

We have a certain degree of freedom when it comes to choosing weapons. We pack an assault rifle, shotgun or submachine gun as a primary weapon, while a pistol is used as a secondary weapon. The two chosen weapons can be refined with attachments such as sights or handles. Last but not least, we define a grenade type and opt for a drone, armored vest or ammunition package as an extra.

Every beginning is difficult

Shortly afterwards we find ourselves in the outdoor area of ​​a large research laboratory in Alaska. Our mission is divided into three sections with just as many tasks. In the first area we are supposed to free an operator who is stuck in a parasitic structure. Sounds easy, but it is not. Because shooting at it and getting your colleague out is not an option. Instead, the cocoon must first be weakened by destroying nests that are scattered nearby. That should be done quickly, otherwise the operator will die in front of our eyes.

Fortunately, we can follow the feed lines that supply the cocoon with energy and thus quickly remove all nests. Then we pull the comrade out, take him on the shoulder and make our way back to the pick-up point. However, we lured the first enemies with our shots and steps. Because we are carrying the comrade, we can only use our handgun. So we focus on telling the other team members the location of opponents. The interaction works and our troops manage to deliver the target person safely. With that the first task is fulfilled.

Now we have a choice: Either we cancel the entire mission and thus secure the experience points we have received so far. This enables new weapons and equipment to be unlocked, which was not yet possible in our demo. Alternatively, we enter the next area – there the XP reward increases, but the level of difficulty also increases. If our team dies, we lose all experience points we have accumulated up to that point.

After a short vote, we decide to continue. Through a lock it goes into the second area. A rescue mission is pending there, albeit in a different constellation: This time we have to find a researcher and bring him to the landing site. That turns out to be noticeably more demanding than the previous order. On the one hand, many different rooms and nested paths await us inside the facility, making it difficult to get an overview. Our group advances slowly, because noises attract enemies. Going it alone is avoided, instead everyone stays close together and constantly exchanges ideas in the chat.

Bad surprises

Communication is the be-all and end-all, because the situation can change at any time. The creatures can come from all directions and even destroy walls, so we perk up our ears and watch out for suspicious noises. Ammunition or healing items found are also marked and announced. A fair division has to be made, because everything is limited in Extraction. If you suddenly find yourself without cartridges, you have a big problem. The same applies to the life energy: it regenerates only minimally and takes sensitive damage from enemy attacks.

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A few minutes later, we noticed how quickly the situation could escalate. Because when we arrive at the target person, we scare away a small army of monsters that put us under great pressure. Nimble grunts attack with blade arms in close combat, breachers distribute poison gas and lurkers camouflage themselves to cause a nasty surprise. In fact, the sudden onslaught hit us hard: We lose the researcher and much of our life energy. With the last of our strength we make it to the lock that leads to the third and last area.

We are supposed to find and activate some markers there, but that does not happen. In the first room, a couple of grunts dismantle the first player because they quickly circle him and simply knock him out. Unfortunately, it does not succeed in reviving it in time. Thus he is attacked by a yellow fungus and completely incapacitated. Decimated, with little ammunition and low life energy, we no longer have a chance – the last option is escape. So we shoulder the unconscious colleague and run to the nearest pick-up point, where we secure him in a special chamber and then finish the mission.

Teamwork is everything

Elementary for success in Extraction are good map knowledge, a good mix of characters, weapons and communication. In the second attempt, we already had many routes through the research laboratory. This helps us to use shortcuts to destinations or pick-up points or to create our own paths by tearing down certain walls. To do this, we coordinate almost every step, share resources fairly and try to give each other support at all times.

While the operators are already suggesting variety and different approaches, we are skeptical about the mission processes. The tasks may have different names, but in the end it almost always boils down to rescuing, scanning, or destroying. In addition, we felt the increase in difficulty from the second to the third level a bit violent. The first few meters there were already littered with enemies, so that we were finished within a few minutes. What is particularly nasty about it is that an operator who is killed in combat is not playable for a while afterwards – and for the entire team. This increases the pressure to make it out of an area again.

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Little can be said about the graphics, as we played Rainbow Six Extraction completely in the stream. The connection was good and did not cause any gaming problems, but of course there were minor stutters and fluctuations in the resolution. For the release on September 16, the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X | S, PC and Stadia will be served. Thanks to crossplay, teammates are open to all platforms.

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