head to head
vs
Half-LifevsHexen: Beyond Heretic
Half-Life leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Hexen: Beyond Heretic leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Half-LifeHexen: Beyond Heretic
Axis by axis
Execution6 vs 7
Hexen: Beyond Heretic leans harder on execution: Class-specific weapons reward mastering unique attack timing and range
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 3
Hexen: Beyond Heretic leans harder on variance: Puzzle item placement and key locations are opaque until found
Optimization6 vs 6
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.