head to head
vs
Castlevania: Curse of DarknessvsHorizon Zero Dawn
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Horizon Zero Dawn leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Castlevania: Curse of DarknessHorizon Zero Dawn
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 5
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads0 vs 1
Horizon Zero Dawn leans harder on reads: Machines follow fixed patterns, not adapting.
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization6 vs 5
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness leans harder on optimization: Forging Innocent Devils and crafting weapons is the real depth
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.