head to head
vs
Baldur's GatevsGoing Medieval
Baldur's Gate leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Going Medieval leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos).
Baldur's GateGoing Medieval
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 1
Baldur's Gate leans harder on execution: Pause-and-play needs minimal dexterity.
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance5 vs 6
Going Medieval leans harder on variance: Settler traits, weather, and plague events carry meaningful randomness
Optimization8 vs 8
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.