head to head
vs
F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow TorchvsHollow Knight
F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Hollow Knight leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow TorchHollow Knight
Axis by axis
Execution7 vs 8
Hollow Knight leans harder on execution: Precise platforming and pogo timing dominate hard content.
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 1
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization5 vs 6
Hollow Knight leans harder on optimization: Charm builds and boss routes are fully learnable.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.