head to head
vs
Death StrandingvsProject Gorgon
Death Stranding leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Project Gorgon leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Death StrandingProject Gorgon
Axis by axis
Execution3 vs 3
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance3 vs 4
Project Gorgon leans harder on variance: Drop tables and secret recipe discovery add exploration-driven variance
Optimization7 vs 8
Project Gorgon leans harder on optimization: Deeply interlinked skill synergies reward obsessive optimisation
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.