head to head
vs
Don't StarvevsState of Decay 2
Don't Starve leans Variance (Systems & Chaos); State of Decay 2 leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos).
Don't StarveState of Decay 2
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 3
State of Decay 2 leans harder on execution: Combat is forgiving; stealth and swings need modest timing
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance7 vs 5
Don't Starve leans harder on variance: World generation, season timing, and loot rolls are highly random
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.