The power of words
In the opening shots of the trailer, we see a ton of graffiti, some of which we’ve seen in past trailers. These were clearly styled with intent behind them, as their words are not so obscure, even if we can’t always be sure what they may mean. For a few examples, we see “Don’t Write,” “Around and Around,” and “Return.”
The formermost case likely refers to the Dark Place’s wish for Alan to put away his typewriter, as the author has been trying to write his escape for over a decade. “Return” is, of course, the title of that story we see him begin to write at the end of the original game–and is also a reference to the Monomyth, or “Hero’s Journey,” we’ll touch on again later in this recap.
“Around and Around” could refer to a few things. For one, it could reference how Alan’s ongoing escape has him figuratively, or even literally, running in circles at times. It could also refer to a very important symbol on a particular door we mention below.
It should be noted that these opening shots also include a ton of loose newspapers, some of which have partial headlines visible, but I wasn’t able to parse anything jaw-dropping from those bits. I did see mention of what seemed to say “demolished” or “demolition,” but it’s unclear to me how that may tie into the story, unless it’s because the Dark Place’s barrier is crumbling, giving Alan a window of opportunity to get out.
