head to head
vs
Beautiful DesolationvsDREDGE
Beautiful Desolation leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); DREDGE leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos).
Beautiful DesolationDREDGE
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 2
DREDGE leans harder on execution: Fishing minigames and night dodging, light demands
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance3 vs 4
DREDGE leans harder on variance: Fish spawns and fog-of-dread unknowns until mapped
Optimization6 vs 6
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.