head to head
vs
Before the EchovsDarksiders II
Before the Echo leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Darksiders II leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Before the EchoDarksiders II
Axis by axis
Execution7 vs 6
Before the Echo leans harder on execution: Hitting falling rhythm notes accurately is the core skill
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization5 vs 6
Darksiders II leans harder on optimization: skill trees and dungeon puzzles reward planning
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.