Rainbow Six Siege Review – A Shooter On It’s Last Legs In 2024?

Launched back in 2015, Rainbow Six Siege has been around for about eight years, and much has changed. Even though the main goal is simple: defusing or protecting the bomb, the actual gameplay is not as easy.

Despite having a massive skill gap between opponents, I am still hooked on Rainbow Six Siege because of the addicting and immersive gameplay it provides.

Story And Setting

Most players, even veterans, don’t know, but Rainbow Six Siege actually provides a background on how operators worldwide came together to fight. When the threats from terrorist organizations were at an all-time low, Team Rainbow was disbanded in 2012.

However, a new terrorist organization, White Masks, was formed in 2015 in their absence. Even though their objective was unknown, they continued terrorizing the world, for which the Team Rainbow was reactivated. That’s how all the operators from around the world were gathered again.

But who thinks about the story in an Online Tactical Shooter game? Currently, Eight modes are available to play in Quick Play Playlists: Bomb, Secure Area, Hostage, Weapon Roulette, Free For All, Deathmatch, Snipers Only, and Golden Gun. 

However, when you enter tactical playlists, which only consist of standard and ranked modes, things get different. The concept is simple: defend or defuse bombs. But you don’t know the location of the bombs nor the operators your opponents are using.

There are 19 maps in the Standard match and 17 in the Ranked. With the map rotation every season, the game feels fresh, making it easier to grasp its various maps. The maps are often too complex, with too many angles, destruction, and new strategies, which sometimes get a little overwhelming, but I still found myself having fun.

Furthermore, there’s no minimap to navigate (there’s a compass for directions, though). I learned most of the maps in the training mode, and due to the complexity of the map’s design, I still forgot half of them.

The maps are often too complex, with too many angles, destruction, and new strategies, which get a little overwhelming at times, but I still found myself having fun, nevertheless

Moreover, those 70 Operators have unique defending and attacking abilities that interact differently with the environment. With these many operators taking center stage, learning every ability and combination takes a while.

This may sound like a lot, but this is definitely an aspect of R6S that helps keep things fresh even 100 hours later. No matter how many hours I spend, I can never get bored, as there are countless possibilities for defending and attacking.

Gameplay

Rainbow Six Siege’s concept is similar to the major titles like CS2 and Valorant. What makes it different is its massive skill gap. When I first started playing, I was overwhelmed by the complex hud and maps. While the opponents who knew everything had me on my knees.

All operators are categorized into nine types, which makes the game more complex to understand. I like the Breach Operators when attacking; they are the most annoying ones; they create wall openings to expose enemies and help their teammates complete objectives.

Some operators may be perceived as overpowered or underpowered, and the meta can shift with updates, potentially affecting the enjoyment of certain playstyles. 

Breachers and front-line operators are also usually the ones with the most kills. The hardbreachers can even break the reinforced walls, creating openings that help catch enemies off guard.

Attacking Operators for Anti-gadget, Intel, Support, Front Line, and Map Control are also required as teammates. However, my personal favorites are Breach and Front Line, as my playstyle is barging in and dying first.  

As for Defending, I like to lay low playing either Crowd Control or Intel. My favorite operator for Defending is Echo. He has two Yokai Drones to control. These drones can stick to the ceilings and stun enemies, making them especially useful when the opponents are planting defusers and you’re trying to win by time. Not only can it stun enemies, but it can also provide the players with useful intel on where the enemies are.

There are Defending Operators for Anti-entry, Anti-Gadget, Trapper, and Support. Selecting the other category is also important for winning. Also, you can’t select the same operator every round, as it’ll make the opponents pick an operator that can counter yours.

Thermite, Breacher & Support [Image Credit: Me]

The game’s learning curve is steep despite having so much variety in operators, roles, weapons, and maps. Even after learning everything, winning a match with low communication and bad teammates is no easy task. Even though skill-based matchmaking can fix this problem, Ubisoft has yet to address this issue. It gets pretty dull when you lose every match with bad teammates or win every match without contributing due to smurf teammates. 

Balancing operators is also an ongoing challenge. Some operators may be perceived as overpowered or underpowered, and the meta can shift with updates, potentially affecting the enjoyment of certain playstyles. 

The game’s learning curve is steep despite having so much variety in operators, roles, weapons, and maps.

What’s surprising is that the weapon meta isn’t so bad, considering how good of an ability you get with that operator. As a defender, you get the Best SMGs and Shotguns for close encounters, depending on your ability.

For the attackers, there are many Assault Rifles for Short to Medium encounters and even a one-shot sniper, though limited to only one operator. When choosing an operator in the game, it’s common to use SMGs for defending and Assault Rifles for attacking.

Rainbow Six Siege was famous for being full of cheaters back in the day; however, given the current state of Anti-Cheat, I have hardly faced any cheaters. But given how every FPS game is flooded with cheaters upon release, it was no surprise. I even faced a cheater in The Finals, which ruined the whole tournament.

Rainbow Six Siege promotes teamwork and strategizing before attacking, which enhances the game’s realism, tension, and immersion.

The introduction of the destruction mechanic compelled Ubisoft to alter its level design strategy, ensuring that the levels remain logical and lifelike even after parts of the environment are demolished.

Overall, the gameplay is designed around having one or more friends playing at all times because you need to communicate constantly. Playing solo is an awful experience, and you probably will never get good teammates.

Visual And Performance

Rainbow Six Siege leans towards realism and has impressive graphics and immersive visuals for a 2015 game. Each map has its vibe. Some maps are vibrant, while others might feel a bit dull. Moreover, the attention to detail in interior and exterior settings, such as destructible walls and realistic lighting, also contributes to the game’s overall visual appeal.

When it comes to performance, Rainbow Six Siege doesn’t disappoint. I was able to run it smoothly, even with low specs. Over my 100 hours of playtime, I easily maintained over 200 FPS on AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT at Ultra Settings on 1080p.

A promising multiplayer game with great visuals and performance from Ubisoft.

However, the game is sometimes unplayable due to some bugs, one being the server connection error. My friends and I couldn’t reach the main menu because of the infinite loading and crashing. And it’s just not me; players worldwide have the same issues, and Ubisoft has yet to address this issue.

Verdict

Given how reliable a standard match is on teamwork, it’d be a waste to play it solo. Rainbow Six Siege has a lot of replayability value. Not to mention, Ubisoft has been focusing a lot on Rainbow Six Siege, and the active player count has seen a surge spike due to their efforts.

Even though there are minor bugs, it compensates for everything with addictive and immersive gameplay, which always left me wanting more.

This was my review of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege. While you are at it check out our other reviews on:

• Monster Hunter World
• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown review
• Sonic Dream Team
• God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla
• SteamWorld Build Review
• Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader Review