head to head

Deepest Sword cover artvsSuper Mario World cover art

Deepest SwordvsSuper Mario World

Deepest Sword leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Super Mario World leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).

EXECUTION7 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE0 /10OPTIMIZATION3 /10
Deepest SwordSuper Mario World

Axis by axis

Execution7 vs 7

Even - both lean on execution about the same.

Reads0 vs 0

Even - both lean on reads about the same.

Variance0 vs 1

Super Mario World leans harder on variance: Levels are fixed; nothing hidden survives one playthrough

Optimization3 vs 4

Super Mario World leans harder on optimization: Secret exits and route knowledge add a modest solvable layer

Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.

full breakdown

Deepest Sword

full breakdown

Super Mario World