head to head
vs
Donkey KongvsDustforce DX
Donkey Kong leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Dustforce DX leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Donkey KongDustforce DX
Axis by axis
Execution8 vs 9
Dustforce DX leans harder on execution: Frame-tight momentum chaining gates every SS rank
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 0
Donkey Kong leans harder on variance: Barrel bounces add slight unpredictability
Optimization6 vs 6
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.