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Forget about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the world of gaming, it's all about the Remedy Connected Universe (RCU), within which the developer's Alan Wake and Control games co-exist alongside heavy references to the rest of their portfolio. Long rumored, it was cemented within Control's AWE DLC, in which the first Alan Wake game's Dr. Hartman reappeared, laying the groundwork for Alan Wake 2 itself. Now, Alan Wake 2: The Lake House returns the favor, inviting players into one of the Federal Bureau of Control's facilities – in disarray thanks to a mysterious paranormal event – on the shore of Alan Wake 2's Cauldron Lake.
"There was obviously a lot of discussion between the two teams about how we can utilize the kind of core themes of those individual franchises in each other's games," says game director Kyle Rowley, as we ask about the experience of collaborating for Control's AWE DLC during a roundtable discussion. "They leaned quite a lot on the idea of light versus darkness. Obviously, they brought one of the characters back from [the first] Alan Wake to kind of cross the bridge there. It was very much the same for [The Lake House]."
Even with the RCU, the teams behind the Alan Wake and Control games are separate, meaning "it's very much a collaboration between the two teams" according to Rowley. Though it certainly helps that they're within the same studio and even in the same building.
"One of the things that we've tried to figure out is actually, like, how do we schedule the work? [...] They have their own stuff that they're working on, but we're like, 'Hey, we kind of need help on some of these things'. So it's like, 'Oh, yeah, but we don't really have time, go to that producer' [who says] 'What the hell is this?' Those production difficulties come from trying to get help from other projects on your own projects," says Rowley. Though he notes that the experience across both Control: AWE and Alan Wake 2: The Lake House means "we've been getting better at [it]."
Take Control
Even though it's a crossover, both teams have been conscious to try to avoid locking out those less familiar with Remedy's other games. "When we were developing even Alan Wake 2, we were quite aware that there may be people who've not played Control, who've not played [the first] Alan Wake, and we wanted to make sure that this game was accessible for them [...] it should be a cool experience for everybody," explains Rowley.
But that hasn't stopped the studio from adding in things that long-time fans will enjoy, which also provides the hook that its RCU is bigger and deeper than any one game. "I think that's how we've always approached it – on the surface level, it's accessible for everybody, but the deeper you kind of go and explore the world the more rewarding it can become. Especially if you're heavily invested in our previous games."
The Lake House itself, as a structure, is an off-site FBC facility from Control plonked down into the middle of Alan Wake 2. "The world design director that we had on Control was working with us on the world design for The Lake House in terms of its architecture and how it's built," says Rowley. It retains the "brutalist nature" of The Oldest House, Control's primary setting.
"But at the same time Control's gameplay was very fast paced. Jesse could move and fly through the air so the space is very wide and open," says Rowley. "We wanted to look at that same architecture, but through what it would look like in Alan Wake 2's camera. How do those spaces feel when they're slightly more intimate? You kind of feel enclosed by them more than you kind of got with the world of The Oldest House when you were playing Control."
Existing within the format of Alan Wake 2 is like viewing elements of Control through a different lens. Importantly, though, The Lake House is not The Oldest House. "[The aesthetics] still feel like they're part of the Alan Wake 2 game world, just with that slight Control flavor," says Rowley. "We want to make sure [it feels like] it's not exactly the same because it's not the same location – but it has that kind of that throughline."
The Wake Files
Helping to bridge that gap between Alan Wake 2 and Control is The Lake House's protagonist: FBC Agent Kiran Estevez. Just as both Alan and Saga have their own flavor across each thread in Alan Wake 2, Estevez also brings plenty new to the table.
With Alan and Saga "most of the gameplay differences in the base game came through the Mind Place and in the Writer's Room, and how that is interpreted on each character," says Rowley. In the former, Saga could connect clues and evidence on a mental corkboard, and in the latter, Alan could rewrite the world around him as long as it made sense within the genre he found himself.
Estevez doesn't have that. Her own mechanical twist is subtler and takes a page from Silent Hill's (Shakespearean) book: a map. At first, it's blank, but "you get her perspective on what's happening inside The Lake House through the notes that appear on the map" as she scribbles things down. "That's how we've tried to bring some of her character into that side of the experience," says Rowley.
Simply being along with Estevez for the ride is a big differential in itself, though. "She gives a quite different and unique perspective on the paranatural and the supernatural, just being part of the FBC," Rowley notes. "I think, you know, a normal person who sees a painted being coming out of a wall would kind of freak out a little bit more than maybe Estevez does. [...] She almost has a tiny bit of a jaded look like, 'Eugh, I have to file another report on these stupid paranormal things going on.'"
Yet again, it's an area where Alan Wake 2 is able to allow players a different perspective into the FBC than you could get within Control where you played as Jesse. "When you're in Control, you are interacting with a lot of other people inside the bureau, but it's in the context of the events that are taking place inside The Oldest House, whereas here we're kind of coming from a slightly different outside perspective," says Rowley. "What is the FBC like outside of that headquarters? How does the FBC operate as an agency throughout the United States? That's where some of these narrative objects that we scattered throughout the experience come into play," Rowley continues. "There's a lot more of that, you know, office politics."
The Lake House doesn't just bring a slice of Control into Alan Wake 2. Like Control did with its AWE expansion, Remedy is able to use these unique settings to shift the perspective a little to give a fresh look at the familiar. And by the time we get to visit the FBC again, having had The Lake House as a palette cleanser is sure to help us settle in for even more.
In the mood for something unsettling? Check out our best horror games list! Another option is to dive straight into our best Silent Hill games (I'm feeling a Silent Hill 4: The Room replay personally!).
