head to head
vs
Cities: SkylinesvsHexcells
Cities: Skylines leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Hexcells leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Cities: SkylinesHexcells
Axis by axis
Execution0 vs 0
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 1
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization10 vs 9
Cities: Skylines leans harder on optimization: Traffic flow, zoning, and budgets are fully solvable.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.