head to head
vs
Age of Empires II: Definitive EditionvsTempest Rising
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition leans Optimization (Grand Arena); Tempest Rising leans Execution (Grand Arena).
Age of Empires II: Definitive EditionTempest Rising
Axis by axis
Execution7 vs 7
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads7 vs 7
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization8 vs 7
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition leans harder on optimization: civ build orders deeply mapped
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.