head to head
vs
Comix ZonevsTyrian
Comix Zone leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Tyrian leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Comix ZoneTyrian
Axis by axis
Execution8 vs 7
Comix Zone leans harder on execution: Brutal one-life brawling demands clean play
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 1
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization5 vs 6
Tyrian leans harder on optimization: Credit economy and loadout purchases meaningfully shape difficulty
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.