Rainbow Six Extraction coins 2022's first stupid marketing term: "lore gameplay trailer"
Because "gameplay trailers" without gameplay weren't enough
Video game marketers are eternally trying to one up each other with stupid terms. From the industry which bought you "levelution", the "drivatar", and "gameplay trailers" which aren't gameplay comes a new one: "gameplay lore trailer". The year has barely begun but Ubisoft are gunning it out the gate with the new Rainbow Six Siege trailer. This new gameplay lore trailer—yeesh!—explains why a game set within Tom Clancy's serious world of paranoid jingoistic masturbation is overrun with a weird parasite mutating people into monsters.
Honestly, it doesn't bother me that Ubisoft are running roughshod over Tom Clancy's trash fictional universe. I do think it's a shame that they've turned their backs on the sorts of tactical and stealth action games they used make under Tom Clancy's purchased name, but I have no attachment to the #lore. Ignoring any heritage, R6 Extraction does look like it could be quite fun. I'm always game for cooperative monster-mashing.
Our Ed recently played a wee bit for a preview and he enjoyed it.
He said playing "was heaps of fun, even if it's difficult, nerve-wracking, and at times, agonising fun. Intelligence and teamwork is rewarded here, which makes a welcome change from the gung-ho attitude of its Rainbow Six counterparts. This is by no means a shallow spin-off of Siege's Outbreak mode, but more of a companion piece of equal depth. A Siege for those who want to swap the stresses of PvP for the challenges of PvE."
I am curious to see how its tactical mutant-murdering sneak-o-violence stacks up against GTFO, a game whose horrors are so horrific that I just can't with that game. It impresses me as much as it unsettles.
Rainbow Six Extraction is due to launch on the 20th of January. As well as having a Buddy Pass system letting owners invite pals to play with them for a fortnight, it will be on Game Pass. Ubisoft seem very keen for people to play Extraction one way or another.
But seriously, "gameplay lore trailer"? Get outta here, you.
A group of Ubifolk are still campaigning for management to do more "to end abuse in Ubisoft and the wider industry." While the company vowed to improve following the many allegations of abuse, harassment, and discrimination which emerged in 2020, the group known as ABetterUbisoft feel they've still not done enough. They laid out their demands in August 2021 with an open letter signed by 1000 current and former employees, and followed up with a public petition.