head to head
vs
Donut CountyvsStill Life 2
Donut County leans Optimization (Light / Casual); Still Life 2 leans Optimization (Light / Casual).
Donut CountyStill Life 2
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 1
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads0 vs 1
Still Life 2 leans harder on reads: no adversarial opponent, investigative narrative
Variance1 vs 1
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization2 vs 3
Still Life 2 leans harder on optimization: puzzle logic solving is the main systems 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.