head to head
vs
Darkest of DaysvsShadow the Hedgehog
Darkest of Days leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Shadow the Hedgehog leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Darkest of DaysShadow the Hedgehog
Axis by axis
Execution6 vs 5
Darkest of Days leans harder on execution: Aim against waves of period soldiers is the core demand
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 1
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization3 vs 4
Shadow the Hedgehog leans harder on optimization: Routing mission paths for endings and ranks is the meta
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.