Multiplayer games tend to die off or fade into obscurity after a few years of being out. Some may see the occasional patch to fix bugs or add something new, but, generally, support is lessened or not even present after a year or two of a stagnant player-base and not enough money flowing in. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege has avoided this fate, and no matter how rough the state of the game might get, it always bounces back after the next patch and becomes a thrill again.

The premise of this game is a fresh formula that makes for a unique experience every single time. A group of five operators, on attack and defense, all have their own tactical gadgets to sabotage/blindside the enemy, with several counter-play and sporadic strategies being used to catch the enemy off-guard. If a defender reinforces a breakable wall, Thermite can break through it. If an attacker uses their drone to look for defenders, Vigil can hide from it. Two new operators get released every season, and have been since early 2016, making for eight new operators every year; the development team has expressed interest to have more than a hundred operators, an ambitious goal considering there are only 45 at the end of 2019.

What makes Siege special is the variety of combinations of operators that any round can bring. Synergy is key, as operators like Thatcher disabling defender electronics makes the attacker’s lives easier; where Mozzie can hack attacker drones and use them against the attackers. While the skill ceiling is astronomical in this game, it took me hundreds of hours for me to comfortably call myself “good” for example; the learning experience is rewarding and worth the struggle. You can learn a lot from watching content creators like BikiniBodhi, MeatyMarley, and MacieJay doing some wild strategies and bold plays.

No single operator feels too overpowered; there is always a way to outsmart/outmaneuver a strong operator. When one does get a little too powerful, they are nerfed in the next patch. They are never nerfed too hard to not have any value in playing. Inversely, if an operator is weak, they get an adequate buff or even a rework, in the case of defender Kapkan. The community also likes to put the weakest operators on a pedestal, like Tachanka and Montagne, finding that playing as them provides a nice handicap/challenge.

The fun factor of the game has not faded for me in four years of playing it; the playerbase has not dwindled, as the game sees free weekends every few months, introducing new players to the fold. While some players may get toxic and spout drivel, you are able to mute them in both voice chat and text chat. Teamkilling also lets the victim denote if it was intentional or not, invoking a penalty if a toxic player chooses to teamkill twice. These countermeasures ensure that the fun doesn’t stop if someone tries to ruin it.

In the end, I look forward to blowing off some steam in Rainbow Six Siege, and I never feel like it is a chore to play. The game is set to have a bright future, as new operators keep the game interesting. My heart pounding in situations where I am at a disadvantage is a feeling like no other, as the opportunity to succeed keeps me on my toes. I do not see myself quitting Siege anytime soon, as year five is on the horizon, set to entertain me like the past four years have.

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