head to head
vs
MechWarrior 5: MercenariesvsPapers, Please
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Papers, Please leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
MechWarrior 5: MercenariesPapers, Please
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 4
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries leans harder on execution: torso twisting and component targeting under fire
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance3 vs 4
Papers, Please leans harder on variance: Random entrant documents and scripted-event surprises
Optimization7 vs 7
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.