Developer: Remedy Entertainment
Publisher: Epic Games
Rrp: £15 (Epic) for the Deluxe upgrade or part of the Deluxe edition
Released: 27th October 2023
Available on: Epic
Played Using: Xbox One Control Pad
Alan Wake 2: Night Springs DLC
Night Springs is a fictional town in a TV show that Alan Wake used to write screenplays for, it’s supposed to be an anthology series similar to the Twilight Zone. As such this DLC is an anthology that is split into three episodes.
Each of these episodes focuses on a character that you will have met as you play though the base game… well except for the second episode, that I’ll explain when I cover the three episodes.
The first episode is called Number One Fan, and follows the story of Rose the waitress as goes off to rescue the object of her affection ‘the writer’ from being kidnapped. This episode is quite frankly, silly and I loved every dumb second of it. As I played through it I kept being reminded of the TV show Pushing Daisies, I think because of the use of the music which sadly I have no idea how to classify.
North Star is the name of the second episode and features an unnamed woman that you have not met in the game. However, those of us who have played Control will recognise her as Jesse Faden the protagonist of that game. This episode leans more into the horror of Alan Wake 2 but it’s still a bit lighthearted, I mean it’s about a coffee cult, not exactly super serious material.
The last episode is Time Breaker, featuring an actor that looks a hell of a lot like Sheriff Breaker. From what I’m given to understand this game is a huge reference to Quantum Break, a game that Remedy made but is not part of the Remedyverse. This was a lot of fun and I enjoyed some of the twists it employed both mechanically and in the story.
Though these episodes can all be accessed from the main menu I personally think the best way to play them is as you play through the base game. They act as something of a short break from the horror and mystery that permeates throughout the base game. This gives the player a moment to breathe and take in a much smaller story. They each take about an hour to play through, assuming you watch the cutscenes and dialogue
I think these are a worthwhile addition to the game, though I can see why some people might get frustrated because they add nothing to the base game itself.
Alan Wake 2: The Lake House DLC
In this DLC you play as FBC (Federal Bureau of Control) Agent Kiran Estevez, as you might imagine this DLC deepens the ties between Control and Alan Wake even more. I’m also very confident that this DLC also confirms Control 2 is being developed (which having recently checked Remedy’s website, is absolutely confirmed).
Agent Estevez was tasked by the FBC to co-ordinate with The Lake House, a research facility run by the FBC to research Cauldron Lake and the power that’s connected to it. Things go wrong very quickly and instead Agent Estevez has to work out how to not only survive but stop whatever is going on.
Just like with the Night Springs DLC you can access this from the main menu or wait until it appears in the story, which is very close to the end of the game.
Similar to how Alan Wake 2 carries with it a commentary on meta narratives, stories and creativity, this DLC also contains its own themes. Though in this case I think the developers decided to be a lot less subtle about it. The commentary in this case is about AI and its relation to art, or perhaps it might be better to say that it shines a light on AI and the commodification of art. Once again I don’t want to go too deep on this because I have some very strong feelings on the subject and could write essays on it.
Should you play this DLC? Yes. If you’re playing Alan Wake you will love everything about this, and unlike the last DLC it definitely adds to the ‘lore’ of both Control and Alan Wake.
