head to head
vs
Children of the SunvsDesperados III
Children of the Sun leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Desperados III leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
Children of the SunDesperados III
Axis by axis
Execution6 vs 6
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads0 vs 1
Desperados III leans harder on reads: Enemy patrols are fully scripted; no adaptive opposition
Variance1 vs 3
Desperados III leans harder on variance: Guard patrol overlap creates some hidden-state uncertainty early on
Optimization8 vs 8
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.