not the 9 that is the first game but its a solid 7 for a pseudo dlc
yes it is canon and alan wake 2 confirms this as just one of many times alan tried escaping the darkness, thing is, its cheesy for a purpose, people gotta remember alan wrote this to be part of a TV show, thats why everything is a bit less serious.

lore aside it is a bit more budget tight than the first game, probably because they were getting enough funds for their next game, remedy is a small studio, and lets not talk about the leechers that rockstar are.
overall its fun to play something sam had a lot of fun writing