head to head
vs
7 Days to DievsState of Decay
7 Days to Die leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); State of Decay leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
7 Days to DieState of Decay
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 4
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads1 vs 0
7 Days to Die leans harder on reads: Zombie AI is largely scripted with minor pathing adaptation.
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.