Alan Wake ll’s final DLC is here at last, and it couldn’t be more tonally different from its predecessor, Night Springs.
The Lake House finally throws open the doors to the secret FBC research facility located in the woods next to Cauldron Lake. As Saga, we were unable to access this restricted space (try as we might), but as FBC Agent Kiran Estevez (Janina Gavankar) we are now able to lead a team to investigate the strange goings on there.
Fans of Remedy’s 2019 hit Control will recognize the facility’s familiar structure, from its imposing brutalist architecture to its shifting exits, endless mazes, and morally grey scientists carrying out any number unchecked experiments.
This time, Co-Heads of Research, Jules and Diana Marmont (Philippe Spall, Helene Maksoud) take over from Dr. Casper Darling (Matthew Porretta), although the fan favorite character does make an appearance via found footage, and in email threads found on badly passworded computers scattered throughout the 5 floor interior. If you found Darling’s ethics unsavoury, then you’ll positively recoil at what the Marmonts have been up to, without his oversight.
As Estevez your mission is to make contact with the Marmonts, deal with whatever event has placed the Lake House under lockdown, and stablilize the Cauldron Lake Threshold. While Estevez played only a small role towards the end of Alan Wake ll, she makes for a refreshing protagonist here. Already a seasoned FBC Agent, Kiran (Remedy’s first cannon gay character?) is used to dealing with the supernatural — or parautilitarian — and her direct, no-nonsense attitude is a fun spin on previous characters who found themselves on the wrong side of Bright Falls and the Oldest House’s unique brand of weirdness.
While the map itself is not huge (five floors of office space with tell-tale emails and Alan Wake’s manuscript pages revealing the how and who behind recent events), The Lake House is, in true Remedy style, beautifully outlandish. Elevator doors disappear. Rooms that seem initially small suddenly stretch to infinity. Clear paths are suddenly obstructed. The lockdown forces the player to locate a number of key cards granting various levels of access, and to backtrack to previous levels to use them. The slog is worth it. Locked rooms provide huge story nuggets via Darling-style video diaries from Jules and Diana, in addition to additional weaponry and healing items.
Enemies take the form of regular Alan Wake style Taken, here referred to as Shadowed individuals. They’re generally tougher than Bright Falls Taken, and ammo is tight, making fight sequences a nerve-wracking experience. Players are encouraged to find creative ways to deal with sporadic waves of enemies, or face reloading the game from their last save point. Added to this is a new enemy — The Painted — a creature torn from the paintings of Subject P (no spoilers), who is impervious to Estevez’s flashlight and the game’s standard shotgun and handgun. In fact the only thing that can take out one of the Painted is the Black Rock gun, which taunts players by being just out of reach at the beginning of the game. This special weapon also requires special black rock rounds which are extremely rare, adding to the ongoing sense of panic. Ambient sounds, eerie music, and lighting that on occasion plunges the player into total darkness, may just make you want to throw your controller away and run for the nearest door. I’m not saying that’s something I did, but it is totally something I did.
But it’s not all terror. The Lake House is infused with Remedy’s trademark humor, and satisfying side-stories for those with the will to seek them out. Check out the story of the scientist with the nut allergy on pie day. Discover how Jules and Diana’s competitive personalities led to [REDACTED] in the [REDACTED], and converse with a Bright Falls resident who is so absorbed in his writing he hasn’t even noticed the hellscape unfolding around him.
My favorite story beat involves a room filled with infinite mechanical typewriters, all clacking away to an algorithm designed to eventually match Alan Wake’s writing. A nearby office compares the hilarious results of this endeavour:
“A mist heavies in panic mountain.” reads one line.
Another tells how the pistol and flashlight are accidentally the protagonists.
Another describes “screaming teeth.”
Another, like this one on the left, gets pretty … dark.
The comparison to generative AI is not a subtle one. Or perhaps the allegory tells how the staggering hubris and narcissism of a single rich man can ruin an online social space for artists?
The DLC poses a lot of questions. What is the definition of art? What range of crafts fall under that name? How is art measured or quantified, and in what units? And who is qualified to do that? (One memo suggests kidnapping critics!). And while the answers to those questions are not forthcoming, The Lake House is clear on one point:
“The truth was controlled here. The art was not art. Just content for the experiment.”
Likewise, FBC posters remind scientists to keep their eyes on their work, with the reminder “Art is for analysis, not for admiration.”
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Lake House scientists may have difficulty appreciating art, but fans of Remedy’s Alan Wake ll, and its first DLC, Night Springs, won’t. This final chapter in the Alan Wake ll story is beautifully realized, from its script to its visuals, from its sound to its simple but effective level design, and in a host of other areas too numerous to mention in this review.
To boot, a glimpse at Remedy’s upcoming Control 2, teased in the DLC’s ending feels organic, and in no way shoe-horned in. The Oldest house, the Oceanview hotel, and the fate of Dylan Faden are crucial elements that Remedy knows will capture the imaginations of fans going forward into a (for now) Alan Wakeless future.
In many ways Night Springs (reviewed here) felt like a playful love letter to the game studio’s most fervent fans. The Lake House returns to form with a jolt. A stark reminder played out in a brutal and bloody finale that Alan Wake ll is a survival horror.
There’s no poignant ending here. Or tearful goodbyes. Just a glorious riot of artistic endeavour going out in a blaze of bloody glory, instead of choosing to fade away.
Our score: 9/10. A tightly paced, superbly atmospheric final chapter in the Alan Wake ll story, blending horror with humor and a discussion on the nature of art. The Lake House makes the most of a small arena via the use of creative and labyrinthine turns that will be familiar to Remedy fans. Although the game could have been longer, and some fans may have been disappointed by the lack of familiar faces, including the game’s protagonist himself, this DLC stands as a proud bookend to the main game, and ties neatly into future projects.
Platform: PS5, X-box Series X/S, Windows
Release: 10/22/2024
Studio: Remedy Entertainment
Publisher: Epic Games Publishing
