head to head
vs
Darkest DungeonvsXenonauts
Darkest Dungeon leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos); Xenonauts leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Darkest DungeonXenonauts
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 6
Darkest Dungeon leans harder on variance: crits, stress events, and dungeon rolls punish plans
Optimization8 vs 9
Xenonauts leans harder on optimization: Air war, economy and squad doctrine decide campaigns.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.