Remedy Entertainment has always been a bit of a critical darling in video games, releasing countless titles that would go on to become some of the biggest cult classics of all time — Max Payne, Alan Wake, Control, and more. But Alan Wake 2 felt like a massive step forward for the studio, a truly visionary game that pushes forward everything Remedy has been known for, and finally starts peeling back the layers of the Remedy Connected Universe. With the dust settling a year later it truly feels like Alan Wake 2 is a monumental moment for both Remedy and horror games at large. That’s never been more true than with The Lake House expansion, a fantastic DLC that brings the game’s saga to an end.
The Lake House is the second, and final, expansion for Alan Wake 2, following Night Springs released earlier this year. But where Night Springs was a wacky anthology, The Lake House directly integrates into the plot of Alan Wake 2 — simultaneously giving us a very brief glimpse of Remedy’s wild future. It’s technically a prequel set before the events of the main game, cramming everything Alan Wake 2 does well into a compact experience, filled with terrifying new enemies, interesting lore tidbits, and some stellar set-piece moments. But what’s most impressive, and fascinating, is how The Lake House emerges as a kind of meta-commentary on the importance of humanity in creating art, and the danger of regurgitating art through processes like AI.
In The Lake House, you play as Federal Bureau of Control agent Kieran Estevez, sent to investigate the FBC facility that monitors Cauldron Lake and the supernatural events around it in Bright Falls, Washington. The facility itself is known as “The Lake House.” It’s important to point out that while this expansion is tied to the events of Alan Wake, it also has an extremely strong connection to Control — meaning you might want to go in with knowledge of the 2019 game as well.
At the start of The Lake House takes place it’s been four years since FBC headquarters went dark, because of the events of Control. In that time period, the two head researchers of The Lake House, the Marmonts, took total control of the facility and used it to conduct depraved experiments.
While I don’t want to spoil everything that happens in the expansion, the general setup and lore implications are fascinating. Essentially, the Marmonts wanted to replicate how Alan Wake was able to make his writing come to life, using that to build a bridge between the real world and The Dark Place. To that end, they kidnap multiple writers to try and get them to replicate Alan’s work, abuse a painter to get the same effect, and ultimately try and use machine learning to make it happen.
No matter how hard the Marmonts try they simply can’t replicate what Alan did, even through human and machine means. There’s an incredibly striking image early on of a room filled with typewriters being operated by machines, a literal content farm spewing out work ad nauseam.
It’s a brilliant way to tie the theme of creativity to the world of Alan Wake. But it’s also picture-perfect proof that this kind of meaningful commentary can only be achieved by a work of true human ingenuity. Alan’s work is uniquely his own, and thus he’s the only one that can change or replicate it.
This is all a pretty scathing indictment of the process of feeding creative works into AI and machine learning, using those systems to regurgitate things that have already been done. But it’s also a meta-commentary on Remedy itself, and the process of iteration in video games. For decades Remedy, and its lead writer Sam Lake, have defined themselves on a distinct “authorly” style. Yes, the games take inspiration from the likes of Twin Peaks, but Remedy undoubtedly has its own unique approach to developing video games.
Each and every Remedy game shares a dynamic mix of combat and story, worldbuilding, and an extended universe. The studio prides itself on how different each and every one of its games feel from anything else out there. But so many games these days are trying to ape what’s popular and cash in on trends like hero shooters, battle royale experiences, or open world experiences. There’s far too much imitation in gaming and not enough iteration.
The Lake House feels like Remedy driving that point home, creating a meta-commentary while reveling in one of the most well-designed and compelling sections in all of Alan Wake 2. It’s the cherry on top that brings the game full circle and fully drives home its themes about authorship and creativity.
Wherever Remedy’s next game goes, if it can manage to beat Alan Wake 2, it’ll be an instant classic.
