head to head

Baldur's Gate cover artvsSheltered cover art

Baldur's GatevsSheltered

Baldur's Gate leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Sheltered leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos).

EXECUTION2 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE5 /10OPTIMIZATION8 /10
Baldur's GateSheltered

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

Sheltered leans harder on variance: Random events, visitors, and expedition rolls hit hard

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.

full breakdown

Baldur's Gate

full breakdown

Sheltered