2 has even more than 1:
- Anytime you have to euthanize a plague victim.
- The story lines in Homecoming are basically one gut punch after the next. To wit:
- It turns out Ray Santos is dying from cancer but doesn't want anyone, especially Lily, to know. But because of this he can't keep his word to local survivor communities, leaving them angry at his broken promises and tarnishing the Network's reputation.
- Mickey Wilkerson has lost everything because Nat Wilkerson blew up their home rather than surrender to the Army and he comes to realize the Wilkerson name is a curse. He's been reduced to being an errand boy for Dr. Hoffman and when he tentatively tries to make friendly contact with Lily, she (not undeservedly) initially tells him to fuck off. They start to reconcile if you do all of his missions.
- IzzeBee did something that resulted in the Jurassic Junction base getting blown up, killing Malik and at least several others. Those who made it out have gone their separate ways. IzzeBee tries to be her chipper self, but it's clear she's carrying a lot of guilt.
- In Homecoming, after completing the Mickey Wilkerson storyline, Ray Santos will eventually succumb to his cancer several days later. Ray asked Mickey to make sure he wouldn’t turn and Mickey mercifully killed him. Before that, Mickey sorrowfully announces Ray doesn't have long, and anyone who wants to give Ray their thanks and memories had better do so now.
- Returning to Trumbull Valley in general is this for those who have played State of Decay 1. After the events of the Heartland expansion, the valley has deteriorated further and nature has begun reclaiming the abandoned towns and houses. Marshall in particular is a crumbling skeleton of what it once was, with abandoned military outposts dotted throughout the city's downtown district and plague wall remnants choking many notable buildings and rendering them inaccessible. Once familiar areas like the Trucking Warehouse and Kirkman Residence are derelict shells, their fortified walls destroyed and any signs of life long gone. Wandering around these former home sites, it's hard not to reminisce and wonder what really happened to the people who used to call these places home if only for a brief period of time...
- With the Homecoming DLC installed, Lily and Ray will talk about how wonderful Trumbull is and invite people to go there. However, when the player does get there, it's a desolate hellhole just like any other map, thus exposing the duo as liars. The Doylist explanation is that their talks are non-canon and serve only to coerce the player into playing the DLC map, but from a Watsonian perspective, Lily and Ray sound mildly desperate and lonely. They just want people in their beloved valley again, even if they have to oversell how wonderful it is.
