head to head
vs
BattleBlock TheatervsMonsters vs. Aliens
BattleBlock Theater leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Monsters vs. Aliens leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
BattleBlock TheaterMonsters vs. Aliens
Axis by axis
Execution6 vs 6
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 2
Monsters vs. Aliens leans harder on variance: Little randomness in fixed level design
Optimization4 vs 3
BattleBlock Theater leans harder on optimization: Gem routes and weapon picks learnable.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.