head to head

Dishonored cover artvsSystem Shock cover art

DishonoredvsSystem Shock

Dishonored leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); System Shock leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).

EXECUTION5 /10READS1 /10VARIANCE2 /10OPTIMIZATION7 /10
DishonoredSystem Shock

Axis by axis

Execution5 vs 5

Even - both lean on execution about the same.

Reads1 vs 0

Dishonored leans harder on reads: Guard AI scripted, non-adaptive.

Variance2 vs 3

System Shock leans harder on variance: Citadel's layout and logs are hidden until uncovered

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.

full breakdown

Dishonored

full breakdown

System Shock