head to head
vs
Middle-earth: Shadow of WarvsPayday 2: Crimewave Edition
Middle-earth: Shadow of War leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Payday 2: Crimewave Edition leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
Middle-earth: Shadow of WarPayday 2: Crimewave Edition
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 6
Payday 2: Crimewave Edition leans harder on execution: Aim and crowd control matter once a heist goes loud
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance4 vs 3
Middle-earth: Shadow of War leans harder on variance: Random orc traits, betrayals, and fortress compositions
Optimization7 vs 7
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.