head to head
vs
HeadlandervsSuper Mario 3D Land
Headlander leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Super Mario 3D Land leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
HeadlanderSuper Mario 3D Land
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 5
Super Mario 3D Land leans harder on execution: 3D jumps and special-world remixes need clean control
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 1
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization6 vs 5
Headlander leans harder on optimization: Body-swapping puzzles and metroidvania route knowledge
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.