head to head

Back to the Future cover artvsHalf-Life: Alyx cover art

Back to the FuturevsHalf-Life: Alyx

Back to the Future leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Half-Life: Alyx leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).

EXECUTION7 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE2 /10OPTIMIZATION3 /10
Back to the FutureHalf-Life: Alyx

Axis by axis

Execution7 vs 7

Even - both lean on execution about the same.

Reads0 vs 1

Half-Life: Alyx leans harder on reads: Combine and headcrabs scripted.

Variance2 vs 2

Even - both lean on variance about the same.

Optimization3 vs 3

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

Back to the Future

full breakdown

Half-Life: Alyx