head to head

Metal Slug cover artvsThe House of the Dead: Remake cover art

Metal SlugvsThe House of the Dead: Remake

Metal Slug leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); The House of the Dead: Remake leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).

EXECUTION8 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE1 /10OPTIMIZATION6 /10
Metal SlugThe House of the Dead: Remake

Axis by axis

Execution8 vs 8

Even - both lean on execution about the same.

Reads0 vs 0

Even - both lean on reads about the same.

Variance1 vs 2

The House of the Dead: Remake leans harder on variance: Branching paths and item spots are quickly mapped

Optimization6 vs 5

Metal Slug leans harder on optimization: One-credit clears come from memorising routes and spawn patterns

Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.

full breakdown

Metal Slug

full breakdown

The House of the Dead: Remake