head to head
vs
7 Days to DievsMiddle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
7 Days to Die leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
7 Days to DieMiddle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 5
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor leans harder on execution: Counter-timing combat and stealth execution
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance4 vs 4
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization7 vs 6
7 Days to Die leans harder on optimization: Base design and horde-night kill funnels dominate.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.