Alan Wake 2: The Lake House DLC Review – Control Freak

Alan Wake 2 instantly shot up very close to the top of my personal rankings of all-time great survival horror games when I played it last year, so I was more than a little excited about getting the chance to hop into its world again with post-launch content. And though I certainly enjoyed my time with Night Springs, its first expansion, earlier this year, I knew that it would be with the game’s second and final expansion that Remedy Entertainment would deliver the more unmissable return to Bright Falls.

Sure enough, that’s exactly what The Lake House is- and much more on top. This second expansion is not only a great way to cap off Alan Wake 2’s story, it also simultaneously serves to further expand and set up future things for the Remedy Connected Universe. Just as Remedy used Control’s second expansion to bridge the gap between the 2019 title and the then-upcoming Alan Wake 2, The Lake House is meant to guide players from the twisted horrors of Alan Wake 2 and back into the trippy nightmares of the in-development Control 2. The end result is a compelling survival horror jaunt that feels like the perfect blend of Remedy Entertainment’s two beloved franchises.

"The Lake House is a compelling survival horror jaunt that feels like the perfect blend of Remedy Entertainment’s two beloved franchises."

Just like Night Springs, The Lake House doesn’t put us back into the shoes of either of the two base game protagonists in Alan Wake or Saga Anderson. Instead, you play as Kiran Esteven, an FBC agent who has a crucial role to play in the base game, and now steps up as the star of the show in this solo side adventure. Set before she meets up with Saga in the town of Bright Falls, The Lake House sees Estevez traveling to the titular FBC facility that monitors Cauldron Lake. Things, however, have gone monumentally wrong in the facility, and it soon becomes clear that not only must Estevez figure out what happened and how to fix it, she also has to do so while dealing with the many horrors that have been unleashed within the walls of the Lake House.

Right from the first second, the DLC does a great job of telling a compelling story. While it doesn’t feel like a crucial part of the overarching Alan Wake 2 narrative, it does tell an engaging story of its own that taps into the base game’s story and the series’ lore in some interesting ways. From rogue operatives to experiments gone horrifically wrong and plenty more, there’s quite a bit to digest, but it comes together in satisfactory fashion. Some might be disappointed in the fact that The Lake House almost seems more important to the future of the Remedy Connected Universe than it does to Alan Wake 2 itself, but even for those less concerned with Control 2, the DLC’s own story has enough mystery and intrigue to keep you satisfied. That’s thanks in no smart to typically strong writing- in particular, there’s a lot to be said about how deftly yet strongly The Lake House commentates on generative AI and its inability to create actual art.

Estevez is also a strong protagonist, and feels like a meaningful addition to the cast of playable characters in the game. Where Alan himself is an insane bag of loose bolts, and Saga is very much a fish out of water in spite of all of her calmness, Estevez – as an experienced FBC agent making her way through an FBC facility – feels like a much more assured protagonist, one who’s also much more knowledgeable about things relevant to the story. It helps that actor Janina Gavankar also continues to do a great job bringing the character to life.

"The Lake House itself serves as a great setting. From a visual perspective, it combines the brutalist architecture of Control’s The Oldest House with the grittier survival horror tone of Alan Wake, and achieves unsurprisingly spectacular results."

The Lake House itself, meanwhile, serves as a great setting. From a visual perspective, it combines the brutalist architecture of Control’s The Oldest House with the grittier survival horror tone of Alan Wake, and achieves unsurprisingly spectacular results. The expansion is incredibly high on atmosphere and unsettling sights to throw at players. The actual scares are less prominent here as compared to, say, the base game’s horrifying nursing home, but those looking for something spooky will still be satisfied with what’s on offer here. And yes, The Lake House still has those infamous Alan Wake 2 jumpscares. They’re less prominent and egregious than they were in the base game, but the DLC does have its moments where it very gleefully uses the cheapest possible tactics to make you jump out of your skin. And you know what? I don’t hate it.

Exploring the Lake House also remains consistently engaging. Designed very much like a traditional survival horror setting, the FBC facility has you exploring multiple floors, and as you slowly and deliberately comb through environments, you’ll also be doing plenty of backtracking, unlocking shortcuts, looping back to familiar locations, and what have you. It helps, of course, that exploration tends to always feel rewarding, because when you’re not engaging with main story content, you’re finding valuable resources and a healthy amount of lore drops. On that point, in fact, I’d say that there are almost too many notes to find and read in The Lake House. Honestly, finding and reading notes in survival horror games is one of my favourite things to do in games, but The Lake House feels like it goes a bit overboard in this area, to the point where it can affect the pacing a little.

There is, of course, combat to get into as well, and though you’ll be fighting plenty of familiar foes in the form of the Taken, Alan Wake 2’s second DLC also introduces a new enemy type in the form of the Painted. Keeping in line with the Alan Wake series’ central motif of art being brought into life in the most horrific manner possible, The Lake House sees protagonist Kiran Estevez having to square off against twisted, lanky, humanoid monstrosities made of paint that shamble out of walls covered in paint and come at you with petrifying aggression. From the noises they make to the way they move about to the fact that they’re invincible until you get your hands on a special new weapon, there’s a lot about the Painted that’s deeply unsettling. They easily rank among the DLC’s best highlights. Oh, and that new weapon? That’s also a blast to use.

"For fans of Remedy’s works, The Lake House is easy to recommend."

It’s going to take you anywhere between 2-3 hours to see The Lake House through to completion, which I personally thought did feel a little shorter than it should have been- but what I did get was still as impressive as I could have hoped for. I absolutely love Alan Wake 2’s band of storytelling, its style of horror, its gameplay pacing, and to have all of that present and accounted for here in The Lake House ensures an undeniable level of quality. On top of that, meanwhile, the expansion also serves as a suitably tantalizing sneak peak into the future of the Remedy Connected Universe, and yet another piece of content that effectively brings the worlds of Alan Wake and Control together. For fans of Remedy’s works, The Lake House is easy to recommend.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.