head to head
vs
Daymare: 1998vsMiddle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Daymare: 1998 leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
Daymare: 1998Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Axis by axis
Execution6 vs 5
Daymare: 1998 leans harder on execution: Manual reload mechanic and enemy pressure demand deliberate execution
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance3 vs 4
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor leans harder on variance: Procedural captains with hidden strengths and weaknesses
Optimization6 vs 6
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.