head to head
vs
Animal CrossingvsPentiment
Animal Crossing leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos); Pentiment leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos).
Animal CrossingPentiment
Axis by axis
Execution0 vs 0
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads0 vs 1
Pentiment leans harder on reads: NPCs react to choices but scripted.
Variance3 vs 3
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization4 vs 4
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.