head to head
vs
Middle-earth: Shadow of MordorvsNine Parchments
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Nine Parchments leans Execution (Twitch Chaos).
Middle-earth: Shadow of MordorNine Parchments
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 6
Nine Parchments leans harder on execution: Spell aim and dodge timing in co-op brawler segments are demanding
Reads1 vs 2
Nine Parchments leans harder on reads: No adaptive human opponent; enemy patterns are scripted
Variance4 vs 5
Nine Parchments leans harder on variance: Spell scroll drops and level randomization add moderate uncertainty
Optimization6 vs 5
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor leans harder on optimization: Intel gathering and exploiting known weaknesses solves fights
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.