The Lake House DLC has major implications for the future of the series

A year removed from the launch of Alan Wake 2 and Remedy Entertainment is releasing The Lake House DLC expansion. Following the three mini Night Springs episodes, players will soon be able to experience a full-fledged narrative expansion. During the PlayStation State of Play, Remedy Entertainment debuted a short one-minute-long trailer.

During the trailer, we hear the voice of FBC agent Kiran Estevez, who is confirmed to be played by Janina Gavankar. We’re then shown a long look at the FBC facility known as The Lake House. Within the Federal Bureau of Control’s research station, the Lake House, a catastrophic event has occurred, where reckless experiments have caused reality to collide with the Dark Place,” the videos description reads. As the camera reaches the end, we see an entity before a quick jump scare (spoilers) and the confirmation of an October release date.

Alan Wake 2: The Lake House has the potential to be an important entry in the Alan Wake Experience. It seems to be paying off loose threads from Alan Wake 2 while setting things up for Control 2.

Alan Wake 2: The Lake House continues a narrative set up in the base game

We never did find out what the Lake House incident was

During the base game of Alan Wake 2, you play as Saga Anderson. During a portion of the game, you explore the nearby trails next to Cauldron Lake (an important location in the Alan Wake series). You’re cut off from exploring closer as an intercom proceeds to not give you access. Throughout the game, you’re able to find a ton of files and bits of lore drawing to the FBC’s research base at Cauldron Lake. This includes a file titled ‘Breakthrough in the Lake House,’ found in the Final Draft New Game Plus mode. The file describes Dr. Jules Marmont’s breakthrough of a Altered World Experiment (AWE) that would put him in the “annals of FBC history.”

“This isn’t the Bureau’s first time in Bright Falls,” Estevez says in the trailer. This of course leads me to believe that Alan Wake 2: The Lake House will in fact take place during the events of Alan Wake 2. Estevez’s character was first mentioned during Control. Stationed at Bright Falls at the time, the character is properly introduced when returning to Bright Falls. In an off-handed comment, Estevez mentions wanting to check in on the Lake House. The game never offered any follow up conclusions to this story.

During the brief jump scare, we see the face of a new character. I believe this could be Dr. Marmont. The logical assumption is that Dr. Marmont’s breakthrough led him to uncovering the object of power seen at the end of the hall in the trailer. Alternatively, he may have found himself trapped in the Dark Place, which would have the character on a course to collid with Alan Wake himself. Alternatively, the character could be Dr. Eugene Campbell. This character worked with Dr. Marmont on Project ‘Nursery Rhymes’ which players uncover during the base game.

Alan Wake 2: The Lake House could set up Control 2

Let The Lake House set the building blocks for Remedy’s next game

Since the release of Control’s AWE expansion, Remedy Entertaiment has been slowly building up the Alan Wake Experience––a larger shared universe between Alan Wake, Control (and tangentially Quantum Break). The AWE expansion sees protagonist Jesse Faden summoned by visions of Alan Wake to investigate the Bright Falls AWE. This crossover event folded Jesse and the FBC into the Alan Wake universe. The FBC then went on to have a much larger presence in Alan Wake 2.

It’s no surprise that Remedy Entertainment is continuing to push both franchises forward. We already know Control 2 is in active development. I believe it’s no coincidence that Alan Wake 2: The Lake House wants to place more focus on Kiran Estevez, a character first set up in Control. This allows Alan Wake 2 to pass the baton back to Control, the same way Control did with the AWE expansion. Now, it remains to be seen whether Jesse will make an appearance. However, if I’m a betting man, I’d put a wager that Jesse will be featured in some capacity. Especially if Remedy Entertainment’s goal is to one day have Alan Wake and Jesse Faden’s stories come together in a meaningful way.

Remedy Entertainment

Now, fear not! Control’s AWE expansion didn’t depend on players having deep knowledge of the original Alan Wake or Alan Wake’s American Nightmare. While having ties to the original games, the AWE expansion was still very much tied to Control and Jesse’s story. The hope would be that Alan Wake 2: The Lake House can be enjoyed by those who may not have played Control yet. This could very well be a jumping off point for some players and an incentive to go back. However, we won’t truly know until the expansion releases sometime next month.