Here's some things I have interpret/noticed/seen/heard:
Sorry for bad english in beforehand. I'm not much of a writer either. Try to withstand.
Oil: Metaphor for 'blood' of the planet earth and to how planet earth is bleeding to death. This is mostly due to human beings and their actions for example because of exploitation of non-renewable resources, ruining the climate and so on. This can not continue much longer but instead Homo Sapiens has to manage to take it's next step in evolution, correct it's past mistakes, fix it's bad habits and move forward. (MGS2 Solid Snake (i.e. Kojima) refers to mankind's "messy and sad history"). One of the most important steps in this is that homo sapiens has to evolve in to/embrace himself as homo ludens. (side note: notice how in business world/schools people are constantly talking about "gamifying" everything since old means of learning and producing are no longer as efficient as they need to be.)
Dead whales: Metaphor for how homo sapiens has managed to enslave nature under his own will and therefore is no longer at mercy of nature as it once used to be - but is now at mercy of homo sapiens himself. This is also reference to Moby Dick and to the great battle between man and the forces of nature. That battle has now ended to a man's victory - hence the dead sperm whales, some of them white.
Homo Sapiens: Man in it's current form who has ruined/is ruining the earth with his own actions, both because of his lack of knowledge and because of it's greed. Though Norman Reedus functions as a representative of the homo sapiens this doesnt nessacarily make himself a evil/bad character. As a proof of this there are the Norman Reedus' oil stained hands (blood stained hands) and the handprints that get filled with oil (carbon footprint). Homo Sapiens must evolve in to homo ludens if he wishes human life to continue on earth.
Homo Ludens: The vulnerable and defenseless fetus/baby seen on trailers. He represents the next step in evolution of mankind and he needs to be kept alive at any cost. He is the only future there is - assuming there will be any. This is also the step that Homo Sapiens needs to be willing to take in order to avoid death stranding so that we may continue our life stranding on earth.
Earth: Our organic space shuttle in emptiness of space we are stranded to. With this shuttle we will also either survive or die out depending on the course of decisions we choose to make as human beings.
Game Universe (Ludens Universe): The universe you step in to as you choose to turn on your console and play the game. The upside down rainbow works as a methaphor for that how it is possible for things to take place in Ludens Universe that would be impossible in "Homo Universe" i.e. the real world we live in. Ludens Universe is also strongly linked in to Homo Universe and it is also self-aware of itself and the existence Homo Universe just as much as you are aware of your game and the Ludens Universe it includes. Besides that - they are also dependent on each other's existence. I believe this is also the reason for Norman Reedus' necklace. He is kind of an interstellar traveller who travels in between these two universes and his necklace acts as some kind of an 'map', guideline or something that anchors himself in to reality if that makes sense to you.
Duality/Crossroads: Life stranding vs. death stranding -> two different kind of outcomes based on how do human beings choose to 'play out' their future. Life stranding = We survive, go through evolution, self developement and better ourselves in order to survive. Death stranding = We fail to evolve and we well die in to this organic space ship of ours which we can not escape. Good lead about the existence of life standing/death stranding -options are the two Low Roar songs used in the trailers. "I'll keep coming" draws a picture about the future of hope and survival through great struggle whereas "Easy way out" describes a much darker outcome through failure and willingness to give up the struggle.
I believe that this is exactly why Death Stranding will be kind of an opposite of MGS2 since unlike in it, now the player will be given an option on how he chooses the future to play out. At the ending of MGS2 snake (kojima) told raiden (the player): "I know you didn't have much in terms of choices this time." since the game basically forced the player to follow strict orders that led to enslaving the mankind.
I will write more later if i come up with more thoughts or notice I forgot to write about something. Please leave your thought on Death Straning or your thoughts on my thoughts - I would be very interested in hearing about them. Feel free to also ask questions as well. I would like to try answer or atleast ponder all the questions myself as well.
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