On Thursday, Sony held its long-awaited PlayStation Showcase, where first-party games like Marvel's Spider-Man 2 shared the stage with third-party titles like Ubisoft's upcoming co-op multiplayer game Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Extraction. And while Sony's first-party line-up pointed to a bright future, it was Rainbow Six Extraction and other games from PlayStation's partners that stood out for release in the relatively near future.
As part of the PlayStation Showcase, Ubisoft dropped a new two-minute trailer focusing on Rainbow Six Extraction's story. It starts by building up the severity of the storyline within the game, calling the threat in Rainbow Six Extraction the worst the world has ever known. It even compares it to other global threats like hostage situations, biological weapons, and nuclear war. Needless to say, Ubisoft wants to make clear that Rainbow Six Extraction's conflict is an escalation unlike anything in the franchise's past.
The remaining 90 seconds following the cinematic introduction show a shrunken version of what missions look like in Rainbow Six Extraction. It starts with infiltration using stealth, with silenced gunfire and melee executions. It then escalates with strategic attacks on groups of alien enemies that can't be taken down stealthily. Completing objectives like destroying key threats or rescuing hostages follows. There are also moments of surprise, like attacks from unforeseen threats including explosive enemies. Lastly, there's the largest threat of them all -- an enormous and dangerous boss enemy.
Throughout this gameplay breakdown, a narrator offers epic commentary not just about how dangerous and exciting Rainbow Six Extraction's gameplay is, but also touches on some more key mechanics. Namely, the narrator talks about how important it is for teammates to work together to overcome the thread. "Together we fight for our future," and similar encouraging statements are made, pushing players to work cooperatively or risk failure.
A blog post accompanying the trailer's reveal goes into more detail. Ubisoft talks about how each incursion is broken into three phases. Each phase comes with its own challenges and objectives, as well as rewards. Players can leave after each phase, or push further into the map for more difficult challenges. Through this style of progression, players will unlock new maps, Operators, tech, and customizable cosmetics.
Ubisoft even confirms that Rainbow Six Extraction will offer what it's named the Maelstrom Protocol, which is a special ranked mode of escalating challenges and the game's best rewards. Needless to say, when Ubisoft says Rainbow Six Extraction's story is built around the largest threat to the world in its Tom Clancy games yet, it plans to make players feel that in-game. Expect to hear more soon.
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Extraction releases January 2022 on Luna, PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.