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.
