head to head
vs
DREDGEvsSkies of Arcadia
DREDGE leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos); Skies of Arcadia leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
DREDGESkies of Arcadia
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 2
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance4 vs 4
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization6 vs 7
Skies of Arcadia leans harder on optimization: Spirit management, crew abilities, and discovery routing are the 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.