head to head
vs
Darkest DungeonvsTharsis
Darkest Dungeon leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos); Tharsis leans Variance (Systems & Chaos).
Darkest DungeonTharsis
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.
Variance7 vs 8
Tharsis leans harder on variance: Dice rolls and event draws brutally dominate each turn
Optimization8 vs 7
Darkest Dungeon leans harder on optimization: party comps and risk management are deeply 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.