Summary
Warning: Spoilers for Alan Wake 2 and ControlAfter a 13-year hiatus, Remedy Entertainment’sAlan Wake 2was finally released this past Fall. As the studio’s most ambitious title to date,Alan Wake 2by many accounts lived up to its lofty goals. Presenting a full survival horror experience heavily influenced by games like the modernResident Evilremakes with its own signature style and meta-narrative,AW2arrived on the scene to take the horror landscape by storm. Highly praised by fans and critics, the sequel was counted among some of 2023’s best in the genre and of the year overall.
Remedy unveiled its plans for all its IPs to be linked together in the “Remedy Connected Universe” in 2020. The developer’s previous game,Control, and its second and final DLC,AWE, was the first piece of content explicitly linking separate titles under the RCU banner. With the established world in place,Alan Wake 2contained more elements that laid the groundwork for further expansion. 2024 will bring two DLCs toAW2;Night SpringsandThe Lake House. The latter is likely to build upon both games' stories and set upControl’s eventual sequel in the process.
The Lake Housecurrently does not have a release window, although it may be set to release in Fall 2024 if it follows Remedy’s previous schedule.
What Alan Wake 2’s Lake House DLC Could Be
The Federal Bureau of Control and The Lake House in Alan Wake 2
The FBC was the central component of 2019’sControl. As a secret government institution akin to the fictionalSecure Contain Protect Foundation, it essentially enacts protocols that involve investigating all kinds of paranormal threats and otherworldly intrusions into normal reality. The organization secretly monitors and catalogs supernatural events while working to prevent them from causing too much damage and to keep their existence hidden from everyday citizens.
The Lake House itself was an FBC outpost set up inAlan Wake 2’s town of Bright Falls by the shore of Cauldron Lake, near the Dark Place, a dimensional rift in reality where the Dark Presence entity resides. In the plot, it’s mentioned that the House suffered some kind of unnatural attack and is currently out of commission.Alan Wake 2’s Final Draftincludes two important moments tied to the FBC. Dr. Casper Darling, formerly a head researcher, is briefly seen lost and exploring the Dark Place. Meanwhile, the new ending depicts Alan awakening with the ability to seemingly travel through realities without impediment. Both implyThe Lake Housewill feature the FBC heavily.
Predicting Alan Wake 2’s Lake House DLC Plot
The DLC’s official description states that players will, “explore the House and embark on two separate adventures as the realities of Saga Anderson and Alan Wake collide again.” This could indicate that it will be set in an alternate timeline, like one of the Dark Place’s surreal looping scenarios.The mysterious janitor Ahti fromControlalso makes an appearance inAlan Wake 2, and may act as an enigmatic but beneficial force, as he was shown previously assisting both Alan andControl’s protagonist, Jesse Faden.
Based on the summary, Saga could be returning, perhaps partnering withFBC Agent Kiran Estevez, who appeared during the course of events, taking over Saga’s case and later providing specialized equipment to combat the Dark Presence and Alan’s possessed form, Mr. Scratch.The Lake Housecould center on players discovering what occurred at the station, and possibly restoring it for the FBC. It’s not unlikely that Jesse Faden herself makes an entrance, mirroring Alan’s appearance inAWEand leading more directly intoControl 2. In any event,The Lake Housewill undoubtedly further establish the Remedy Connected Universe, providing titillating hints about what’s to come.
