head to head
vs
Death StrandingvsThief Gold
Death Stranding leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Thief Gold leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Death StrandingThief Gold
Axis by axis
Execution3 vs 4
Thief Gold leans harder on execution: Careful movement and timing past guards, but slow-paced
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance3 vs 4
Thief Gold leans harder on variance: Unscripted patrols and unknown layouts hide information first time through
Optimization7 vs 7
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.