head to head

Metro: Last Light cover artvsRise of the Tomb Raider cover art

Metro: Last LightvsRise of the Tomb Raider

Metro: Last Light leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Rise of the Tomb Raider leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).

EXECUTION5 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE3 /10OPTIMIZATION5 /10
Metro: Last LightRise of the Tomb Raider

Axis by axis

Execution5 vs 5

Even - both lean on execution about the same.

Reads0 vs 0

Even - both lean on reads about the same.

Variance3 vs 2

Metro: Last Light leans harder on variance: hidden morality system opaque first time

Optimization5 vs 6

Rise of the Tomb Raider leans harder on optimization: Tomb puzzles, crafting, and collectible routing are solvable.

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

Metro: Last Light

full breakdown

Rise of the Tomb Raider