head to head
vs
Crash BandicootvsHollow Knight
Crash Bandicoot leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Hollow Knight leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Crash BandicootHollow Knight
Axis by axis
Execution8 vs 8
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads0 vs 1
Hollow Knight leans harder on reads: Bosses run scripted attack pools; not adaptive.
Variance1 vs 1
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization5 vs 6
Hollow Knight leans harder on optimization: Charm builds and boss routes are fully learnable.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.