head to head

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel cover artvsMiddle-earth: Shadow of Mordor cover art

Borderlands: The Pre-SequelvsMiddle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).

EXECUTION5 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE4 /10OPTIMIZATION6 /10
Borderlands: The Pre-SequelMiddle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Axis by axis

Execution5 vs 5

Even - both lean on execution about the same.

Reads0 vs 1

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor leans harder on reads: Nemesis orcs remember you but remain mappable scripts

Variance4 vs 4

Even - both lean on variance about the same.

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.

full breakdown

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

full breakdown

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor