One of the things that makes Alan Wake 2 a masterpiece is its ability to juggle multiple tones. This is a dark detective novel. It’s a metafictional surrealist horror story. There’s humor, there’s horror, and there’s even some serious musical numbers. Remedy put its tonality into action earlier this year with Alan Wake 2’s first DLC, Night Springs, which offered three separate Elseworlds-style stories, each focused on its own theme. While these were charming little stories, the game’s second and final DLC, The Lake House, feels like the more substantial sequel that fans of both Alan Wake and Control have been waiting for. .
The story of the lake house fills in some of the gaps in Alan Wake 2’s main story and shows how the Feds ended up in Bright Falls upon Alan’s return. You play as returning agent Kieran Estevez, played by Janina Gavankar. He comes to Bright Falls to investigate incidents at the titular Lake House, a research station established by the FBC to study the strange properties of Lake Cauldron. Estevez gives Saga Anderson an excuse to tell his story and deliver Remedy’s characteristic form of narration. She was impressive in the base game, but she’s been fleshed out even more here, so it’s refreshing to give her character a little more leeway.
The story is set in Bright Falls, but as soon as you enter the lake house, you feel like you’re back in control. Brutalist architecture and CRT monitors fill the space along with wonderfully bizarre scientific machinery, but these halls are much darker and more intense than the Oldest House. Similar to Control’s DLC AWE, this is a perfect blend of the tones of two different games, satisfying fans of both.
Just because Agent Estevez is part of the FBC, don’t expect her to have the same authority as Jesse Faden. The gameplay here is the same as playing as Saga or Alan. Most of the enemies in the game must be dealt with using the classic combination of flashlights and firearms that you’re familiar with from the main game. Enemy encounters are tense, so you need to crouch and circle your enemies while firing accurately to avoid wasting precious ammo, getting injured, or depleting your dwindling health kit. must be avoided. There are some very clever encounters that will intentionally overwhelm you, but if you can maneuver your way around the arena you can avoid the fight entirely. There are also new enemy types that can only be killed with certain weapons, take longer to charge, and have very limited ammunition, adding to smart decision-making to encounters.
This is definitely a return to the darker side of Alan Wake’s lore, as the husband-and-wife duo of FBC researchers Jules and Diana Marmont set out to harness the energy of Lake Cauldron, which turned Alan’s writings into reality. It tells the story of how they are trying different things. . Everything goes awry when experiments with paintings wreak havoc on the facility, creating a near-unkillable painted monster in the process. Through the game’s well-written lore notes, you’ll learn about the dark experiments that led to the Marmont family losing control of the facility.
And you’ll want to find all these legendary notes. Because the light they shed on the Marmont family is entertaining. From the introductory video of their bickering that plays as they enter the lake house (they each pronounce their last names differently) to the evidence of their deteriorating relationship, they’re another great addition to Remedy Connected’s stellar supporting cast. I’m adding it. universe. Their relationship is the driving force of this story, and the strength of their characters elevates the entire DLC.
The Lake House has five sub-floors, each with gates and fairly light puzzles to solve. There’s some gimmick in the base game where Alan uses light to change reality, but it didn’t show up as much as I would have liked. To remain trapped on each floor, the elevator doors disappear and move when you step into a new area, and you must find where they have been moved. This is a particularly flavorful touch for gating players. Similar to both Control and Alan Wake, this DLC makes use of changing spaces, sometimes looping through repeating sections of the facility that subtly change each time. None of the mysteries are very deep, but the approximately 3-hour story moves along at a good pace.
There were a few sections in the DLC that stuck and hindered my enjoyment, especially near the end. As I went to the lower part of the lake house, one of the floors was particularly warped and I was too focused on wondering if there was a trick to navigating it, something that could have been better signposted. I completely missed it. I didn’t know if it was something that was there all along or if it only appeared after reality changed around me, but either way it caused me some frustration though , I don’t think it’s entirely my fault. The end boss fight was also a big step up in challenge from the rest of the DLC, especially if you used up all of the special weapon ammo I mentioned earlier.
The Alan Wake series has always depicted artists being tortured, so The Lake House is a great addition to the gaming mythology. It’s a tight-paced adventure that throws you back deep into the dark corners of the Remedy Connected Universe, featuring a great new playable character and some great side characters, and building on what is already one of my favorite games of all time. We are making additions to the game. It’s a shame to see Alan Wake 2 end, but The Lake House does have some nice hints about what’s next for Control 2 and perhaps the recently announced co-op shooter FBC: Firebreak. There are some teasers available. I’m already looking forward to seeing what Remedy has in store next.
Lake House DLC is now available on PC via the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series as part of the Alan Wake 2 Deluxe Edition upgrade.
