head to head
vs
Her StoryvsThe Past Within
Her Story leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos); The Past Within leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Her StoryThe Past Within
Axis by axis
Execution0 vs 1
The Past Within leans harder on execution: Simple manipulation; no dexterity test.
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance5 vs 4
Her Story leans harder on variance: Hidden clips revealed by guessed keywords.
Optimization7 vs 8
The Past Within leans harder on optimization: Cross-referencing two fixed puzzle halves solves everything.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.