Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six® Siege is an elite, tactical team-based shooter where superior planning and execution triumph.
Players must work together as a team, carefully planning their approach and strategically executing their objective. The asymmetric gameplay pits a team of attackers, tasked with completing an objective, against a defending team fortifying their position. This back-and-forth dynamic forces each side to outmaneuver the other, creating a tense and engaging experience.
The extensive environmental destruction is a key highlight. Players can breach most walls, floors, and structures, allowing them to create new sightlines and pathways. Shooting through walls, blowing open new routes, and reshaping the battlefield to one's advantage encourages creative use of the environment. This dynamic destructibility adds an extra layer of strategy and unpredictability to each match.
Players choose from a diverse roster of over 50 specialized operators, each with unique gadgets and abilities. These range from intelligence-gathering drones to deployable shields to lethal traps. Mastering each operator's strengths and weaknesses, and synergizing their abilities with the team, is crucial to success. The varied operator abilities provide a wealth of tactical options and encourage teamplay.
The gameplay forgoes run-and-gun tactics in favor of a slower, more deliberate pace. Positioning, communication, and patience are rewarded, while reckless aggression is quickly punished. A single well-placed shot can be lethal, making every engagement high-stakes. This forces players to carefully clear rooms, watch angles, and coordinate with their team to gain the upper hand.
The game has a steep learning curve, with a heavy emphasis on map knowledge, operator mastery, and adaptation to the dynamic battlefield. New players can expect to struggle initially as they learn the nuances of the game. However, the depth of the gameplay systems and the constant addition of new operators and maps allows for an evolving meta and ever-changing strategies, keeping experienced players engaged and invested.