head to head
vs
Lucius IIvsPony Island
Lucius II leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Pony Island leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
Lucius IIPony Island
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 3
Pony Island leans harder on execution: Light arcade hopping segments with low demands
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance3 vs 3
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization6 vs 5
Lucius II leans harder on optimization: Engineering 'accidents' from level props is the actual puzzle
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.