head to head
vs
Caves of QudvsDarkest Dungeon
Caves of Qud leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos); Darkest Dungeon leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos).
Caves of QudDarkest Dungeon
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 0
Caves of Qud leans harder on execution: Turn-based, no input precision.
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance7 vs 7
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization9 vs 8
Caves of Qud leans harder on optimization: Mutation builds and routing reward deep planning.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.