head to head
vs
Castlevania: Symphony of the NightvsShadwen
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Shadwen leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Castlevania: Symphony of the NightShadwen
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 3
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night leans harder on execution: Forgiving action combat
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization7 vs 8
Shadwen leans harder on optimization: Time-rewind and rope construction enable full pre-optimisation of every kill sequence
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.