In any other case, The Lake House would seem like a pleasant place to spend a calm summer vacation. However, in this instance, it is anything but, as it serves as the backdrop for the second and last episode of the Alan Wake II DLC. This fast-paced, two-hour tour inside the chilly, concrete walls of a distant Federal Bureau of Control facility offers no rest or leisure—only another double-fisted dose of flashlights and guns. In terms of gameplay, The Lake House is not as crazy as Night Springs was a few months ago, but for the Remedy Entertainment team, it is another meta-storytelling cinch when it comes to wrapping up Alan Wake II’s plot and serving as a prelude to the upcoming Control 2.
The Lake House, which is located in Cauldron Lake behind a locked gate close to where the murder victim is discovered at the beginning of Saga Anderson’s story, may be familiar to you from the main Alan Wake II campaign, or at least the outside of its grounds. We can thoroughly investigate this FBC research center in this new chapter as returning FBC Agent Kiran Estevez, even though it was officially off-limits to Saga. The husband and wife scientific team of Jules and Diana Marmont give truly standout performances here, while I enjoyed Estevez in the main campaign and was glad to spend some time in her position. The petty arguments between them in the facility’s welcome video initially made me laugh aloud. Still, as I continued my fascinating investigation inside the ominous shapeshifting structure, I discovered that their relationship had taken a much darker turn, as evidenced by the numerous memos and emails I combed through.
Despite having only five levels, The Lake House is as continuously unnerving a place as anything from the main Alan Wake II campaign because of its proximity to the Altered World Event in Cauldron Lake and the unpleasant research trials carried out by the Mormons. Estevez is trapped in a confusing loop on one floor, shifting canvases are splattered with abstract Jackson Pollock-style sprays on another, and there is just an almost endless room filled with menacingly clattering typewriters on another—a manifestation of the infinite monkey theorem, except without the tiny simian scribes. I loved exploring this beautifully designed piece of unearthly office space, whether I was reading through another Alan Wake manuscript or conversing with a possessed painting that was so furious that it made Vigo the Carpathian from Ghostbusters II look like a puppy dog portrait.
Nothing from the main Alan Wake II campaign is as constantly unnerving as the Lake House.
Although the Lake House has an eerie vibe, it might not have as many mysteries as it could. There are just a few computer passwords to decipher using calendar dates indicated in memos and the like, aside from transporting battery cubes to electrical outlets, which stimulates the eye with its orange glow but is not very strenuous on the brain. It was a little frustrating that there was nothing new to compare to the mind-bending magic tricks Alan’s world-altering Angel Lamp offered in the main campaign, as these hacking jobs are rather easy to figure out.
For the most part, fighting The Lake House’s shadow-clad employees is just as simple, but it is nonetheless rather tense because of its usually cramped close-quarters engagements. Despite being an FBC agent, Estevez regrettably lacks the superpowers and shapeshifting gun that Jesse Faden possessed in 2019’s Control. Instead, she has a pistol, shotgun, and a combination of flashlight, flares, and flashbangs, and I used every last round and spare battery I had in an attempt to light up and destroy every flanker with a sickle and heavy with a sledgehammer that ambushed me along the way.
The Lake House has only one new enemy type, but it is a doozy, aside from the major boss encounter. Early on, I was pressing the dodge button frantically to try to avoid their outstretched grasp because the long-limbed creatures who crawl out of painted canvases seem like Remedy’s towering, tie-dyed version of the Slender Man. They also appear to be immune to Estevez’s attacks. Although Estevez eventually manages to obtain a grenade launcher that is strong enough to defeat these paint-streaked Stretch Armstrongs, dealing with them never became too simple because grenade ammunition is hard to come by, the painted shadows are thin enough that they are reasonably easy to miss, and the requirement to charge each shot before firing puts extra pressure on the timing of each takedown.
My brief return journey to the world of Alan Wake II came to a stunning and difficult finale when the Lake House’s challenge increased even more in its final boss fight, whose identity was a fun surprise from a plot perspective. Even though it is bittersweet that my time with Alan Wake II is officially over, the captivating story hints of what will happen next in the Remedy Connected Universe have me ready for Control 2. My brief stay at The Lake House was brutalist in its architecture and brutalizing in its action.
Verdict
Another amazing and eerie bit of Alan Wake II action is the Lake House DLC. Along with a terrible new monster type to defeat and some incredibly eerie places to explore, it also introduces the Remedy Connected Universe to some amazing new supporting characters. Even though its combat is not all that different from the main game, the puzzles are still quite challenging, and searching through the numerous notes, videos, and audio recordings scattered throughout its terrifying facility made for an incredibly compelling investigation. The Lake House DLC is a gripping bit of psychological horror that is funny, scary, and full of surprises. It is a compelling sequel to Alan Wake II.
