head to head
vs
Costume QuestvsMartha Is Dead
Costume Quest leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Martha Is Dead leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos).
Costume QuestMartha Is Dead
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 1
Costume Quest leans harder on execution: Timed button prompts are the only dexterity ask
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 2
Martha Is Dead leans harder on variance: Narrative twists are the only meaningful unknowns
Optimization4 vs 4
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.