head to head

After Burner II cover artvsOctodad: Dadliest Catch cover art

After Burner IIvsOctodad: Dadliest Catch

After Burner II leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Octodad: Dadliest Catch leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).

EXECUTION8 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE1 /10OPTIMIZATION2 /10
After Burner IIOctodad: Dadliest Catch

Axis by axis

Execution8 vs 7

After Burner II leans harder on execution: reflex-heavy dodging and shooting

Reads0 vs 0

Even - both lean on reads about the same.

Variance1 vs 1

Even - both lean on variance about the same.

Optimization2 vs 3

Octodad: Dadliest Catch leans harder on optimization: Simple objectives, little system depth

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

After Burner II

full breakdown

Octodad: Dadliest Catch