Concluding the “Alan Wake 2” expansion pass, “The Lake House” draws players into the eerie titular location, offering one last dread-filled story, even if its short, unfulfilling runtime hinders it.

Putting the spotlight on secondary character Kiran Estevez (Janina Gavankar), the expansion follows the Federal Bureau of Control agent investigating the lake house, a bizarre research facility that went dark not long before the events of “Alan Wake 2.”

Although the expansion’s story runs simultaneously with the third chapter of the base game, it perfectly encapsulates its bite-sized narrative, allowing the uncanny tale to ebb and flow with grace.

It’s possible to beat the small package in a little over two hours, however, the story leaves clues begging to be untangled throughout the expansion’s claustrophobic map. For players striving to uncover every hidden detail of the lake house and its mysteries, the game’s runtime will clock in closer to the three-hour mark.

Even with the expansion’s brisk pace, it still manages to throw in a respectable dose of meta-commentary — a narrative device that developer Remedy Entertainment has become synonymous with.

Never has AI and its effects on art been discussed in such a heartstopping, spine-tingling way.

On top of everything that the expansion brings narratively, it still manages to take time to tease the future of Remedy Entertainment — specifically “Control 2.”

The story being told through the lens of Estevez is the cherry on top.

Because of the expansion’s rather dark subject matter, Gavankar’s pitch-perfect, dry-wit performance makes exploring each level of the lake house just a bit easier.

While the narrative of “The Lake House” is outstanding for having such a short runtime, the gameplay doesn’t fare so well.

Yes, the expansion still features the engaging, snappy, pulse-pounding gameplay of “Alan Wake 2,” but the new mechanics created for this final adventure feel underbaked.

The two standout additions are the new enemy type, called the painted, and the new weapon, the black rock launcher.

Regardless of how interesting both may seem, they quickly lose their luster.

The introduction of the painted succeeds in bringing a terrifying new enemy to life, but once the black rock launcher is introduced halfway through the expansion, they merely become cannon fodder.

Giving players an overpowered weapon isn’t necessarily a bad thing — it can be seen as an incentive for making it so far — but it doesn’t work when your game is only two hours long.

Because of this, the painted don’t strike fear for too long.

An underappreciated aspect of “The Lake House” lies in its level design philosophy, taking notes from one of the survival horror genre’s godfathers, “Resident Evil.”

Instead of being a linear, run-and-gun experience, the expansion takes things slow, giving players five underground floors to explore, with each offering different objectives, horrifying encounters and story beats. More than likely, players will be visiting each floor multiple times in search of story clues or what to do next. 

For the most part “The Lake House” honors this classic model well, yet it just can’t get the difficulty pacing right.

Whether it’s the expansion’s final boss or the several date-based puzzles found throughout the facility, the game isn’t able to find a harmony between difficult and down-right annoying.

While this form of survival horror may be an old concept, it’s a tried-and-true formula that the “Alan Wake” franchise should continue to explore.

Although “The Lake House” lacks a memorable punch in terms of gameplay, its captivating narrative and “Resident Evil” inspirations make a return to “Alan Wake 2” more than worth it, giving players a terrifying, yet admirable, farewell to the long-anticipated sequel.

The survival horror expansion was released Oct. 22 and is available through the base game’s expansion pass.

“Alan Wake 2” is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Epic Games Store.