head to head
vs
Mario Kart 8vsThe Thing
Mario Kart 8 leans Execution (Twitch Chaos); The Thing leans Variance (Twitch Chaos).
Mario Kart 8The Thing
Axis by axis
Execution6 vs 5
Mario Kart 8 leans harder on execution: precise drifting and item timing matter
Reads1 vs 0
Mario Kart 8 leans harder on reads: minimal, mostly reacting not predicting
Variance6 vs 6
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization5 vs 5
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.