head to head

A Plague Tale: Innocence cover artvsHorizon Zero Dawn cover art

A Plague Tale: InnocencevsHorizon Zero Dawn

A Plague Tale: Innocence leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Horizon Zero Dawn leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).

EXECUTION4 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE2 /10OPTIMIZATION5 /10
A Plague Tale: InnocenceHorizon Zero Dawn

Axis by axis

Execution4 vs 5

Horizon Zero Dawn leans harder on execution: Bow aiming and dodge timing matter.

Reads0 vs 1

Horizon Zero Dawn leans harder on reads: Machines follow fixed patterns, not adapting.

Variance2 vs 2

Even - both lean on variance about the same.

Optimization5 vs 5

Even - both lean on optimization about the same.

Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.

full breakdown

A Plague Tale: Innocence

full breakdown

Horizon Zero Dawn