One of the best things about Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Extraction is how the game punishes players. Each excursion tasks players not only to survive the Archaean and complete objectives, but also to evaluate the risks in delving deeper into any given mission. Players will want to mind the dangers of pressing onward, as it's not just potential rewards that they stand to lose. If someone goes down, there's a good chance they're not coming back.
Much like its predecessor, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, Extraction allows players to choose one of several Operators to control. Each Operator possesses a different loadout and a unique ability, meaning players will inevitably find favorites. That said, players shouldn't get too attached to any one Operator, as failure means said Operator goes MIA until they're later rescued. There are real consequences in Rainbow Six Extraction, forcing players to make tough decisions constantly -- and the game is better for it.
There's a lot of both Rainbow Six Siege and the self-proclaimed "extreme cooperative horror shooter" GTFO in Rainbow Six Extraction. Players choose their Operator and head out into a mission filled with overly powerful enemies, multiple objectives and environments fraught with dangers. That said, Extraction separates itself from its peers and carves out its own identity by effectively implementing risk management elements. Players don't only have to fear an Operator going MIA if they die or the entire team fails a mission, but they'll also have to watch and manage health as if it were currency.
Operators aren't healed after returning from an excursion, meaning if a player barely survives a mission and immediately starts another one with the same Operator, they'll be just as grievously injured. Cycling between several different Operators and learning to play as them is the key to success, ensuring that no one Operator continues to carry wounds and put themselves at risk.
Even if players start the mission with a team of fresh, unwounded Operators, the situation may be drastically different by the time the team decides whether to pursue another objective or evac. The best parts of Rainbow Six Extraction are when the odds dramatically and unexpectedly turn against players, forcing them to reconsider whether it's worth chasing after more rewards.
At the end of the day, Rainbow Six Extraction's success has always hinged on its ability to avoid being lumped into the over-saturated hero shooter genre alongside titles like Valorant or its own predecessor, Rainbow Six Siege. Gambling with the health and availability of Operators against potential rewards is a very compelling way to reach this end. Of course, if the goal was just to stand out, Extraction could have tried implementing different game modes, additional Operators or even something as ludicrous as NFTs. Instead, Ubisoft made the thoughtful decision to force players to make thoughtful decisions -- and Extraction is better for that.