head to head
vs
Castlevania: Aria of SorrowvsMiddle-earth: Shadow of War
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Middle-earth: Shadow of War leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
Castlevania: Aria of SorrowMiddle-earth: Shadow of War
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 5
Middle-earth: Shadow of War leans harder on execution: Same counter-heavy combat as its predecessor
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance3 vs 4
Middle-earth: Shadow of War leans harder on variance: Random orc traits, betrayals, and fortress compositions
Optimization7 vs 7
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.