head to head
vs
Alien SwarmvsHorizon Zero Dawn
Alien Swarm leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Horizon Zero Dawn leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Alien SwarmHorizon Zero Dawn
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 5
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads0 vs 1
Horizon Zero Dawn leans harder on reads: Machines follow fixed patterns, not adapting.
Variance3 vs 2
Alien Swarm leans harder on variance: Spawn timing varies modestly
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.