head to head
vs
Gears 5vsNHL 12
Gears 5 leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); NHL 12 leans Execution (Competitive PvP).
Gears 5NHL 12
Axis by axis
Execution7 vs 6
Gears 5 leans harder on execution: Movement tech and shotgun duels remain the core test
Reads4 vs 5
NHL 12 leans harder on reads: Human opponents bait pokes and anticipate breakouts
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization5 vs 5
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.