head to head
vs
Dungeon SiegevsWest of Loathing
Dungeon Siege leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); West of Loathing leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos).
Dungeon SiegeWest of Loathing
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 1
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 3
West of Loathing leans harder on variance: Random encounters and dice-flavored outcomes
Optimization6 vs 5
Dungeon Siege leans harder on optimization: Party builds and pack-mule logistics are the game
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.