head to head
vs
Middle-earth: Shadow of MordorvsThief Gold
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Thief Gold leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Middle-earth: Shadow of MordorThief Gold
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 4
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor leans harder on execution: Counter-timing combat and stealth execution
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance4 vs 4
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization6 vs 7
Thief Gold leans harder on optimization: Route planning, light management and loot sweeps converge to mastery
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.