head to head
vs
Borderlands 2vsStar Ocean: The Second Story
Borderlands 2 leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos); Star Ocean: The Second Story leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
Borderlands 2Star Ocean: The Second Story
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 6
Star Ocean: The Second Story leans harder on execution: Real-time battle movement and hit-stun timing are performance-critical
Reads1 vs 0
Borderlands 2 leans harder on reads: Enemies are scripted loot fodder
Variance6 vs 4
Borderlands 2 leans harder on variance: Procedurally generated weapon drops vary
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.