head to head
vs
Backpack HerovsOxygen Not Included
Backpack Hero leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Oxygen Not Included leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Backpack HeroOxygen Not Included
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 1
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance6 vs 5
Backpack Hero leans harder on variance: Item drops and shop rolls shape every backpack.
Optimization9 vs 10
Oxygen Not Included leans harder on optimization: Gas, liquid, and power engineering are essentially a solvable engineering puzzle
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.