head to head
vs
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2vsPainkiller (2004)
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Painkiller (2004) leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2Painkiller (2004)
Axis by axis
Execution9 vs 8
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 leans harder on execution: Twin-stick dodging in dense swarms is the core test
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization4 vs 5
Painkiller (2004) leans harder on optimization: Tarot card selection and level routing provide a thin 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.