This spin-off from the phenomenally popular Rainbow Six Siege transposes 18 of that game's operators onto an alien-infested future Earth. A new defence team, REACT, must enter quarantine zones across the US and destroy extra-terrestrial creatures called Archaeans, along with their perpetually spawning nests and an annoyingly sticky alien knotweed known as Sprawl.

Despite sharing much of its DNA with Siege, particularly its operators, weapons and gadgets, Extraction is a very different beast. Instead of a co-op PvP hero shooter, this has more in common with hardcore survival games such as GTFO. Each round features three objectives which must be completed sequentially. These missions (randomly selected from a pool of 12 tasks such as performing a rescue, destroying a VIP target, gathering intel) are separated by a brief moment of respite and replenishment in a safe room. However, just to bolster its hardcore credentials, even these areas are frequently occupied by enemies. Significantly, health can only be temporarily boosted rather than rejuvenated, which forces players to seriously consider prematurely extracting mid-round in order to preserve vital XP.

Another reason to consider dropping out before completing all objectives is that the penalty for death in Extraction is severe. Operators are deemed MIA (missing in action) and must be rescued in a subsequent round, and that rescue attempt will further reduce your roster if it also fails. Even ending a round with low health renders operatives unusable for a spell. Defeat happens often, especially in the first few hours until you level up operators and upgrade their abilities. Most of them play much like they do in Siege (with a few necessary tweaks) but here you're encouraged to let rip with an expanded supply of ammunition. Some operators are far more effective than others, and while at least one medical practitioner should be in the player pool every round, it's hard to justify the inclusion of some of Siege's hard breachers and tactical specialists.

The co-op PvE shooter has entered something of a renaissance recently, particularly thanks to the success of Back 4 Blood, although whether or not Extraction has the staying power to sustain an active community remains to be seen. Exploiting the popularity of the Siege universe is a canny move, but for every Left 4 Dead (still going strong) there's an Evolve (now long defunct). Extraction's high difficulty, even on the easiest setting, walks a fine line between alienating casual players and giving hardcore survival fans something to chew on. But the enduring familiarity of its specialists gives it a fighting chance.

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Extraction is released on Thursday 20 January for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Stadia.