head to head
vs
Middle-earth: Shadow of MordorvsPayday 2
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Payday 2 leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Middle-earth: Shadow of MordorPayday 2
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 6
Payday 2 leans harder on execution: Sustained gunfights and stealth execution under pressure
Reads1 vs 0
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor leans harder on reads: Nemesis orcs remember you but remain mappable scripts
Variance4 vs 4
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization6 vs 6
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.