head to head
vs
Middle-earth: Shadow of WarvsSteamWorld Heist II
Middle-earth: Shadow of War leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); SteamWorld Heist II leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Middle-earth: Shadow of WarSteamWorld Heist II
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 5
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads1 vs 0
Middle-earth: Shadow of War leans harder on reads: Nemesis system mimics adaptation but follows knowable rules
Variance4 vs 4
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization7 vs 8
SteamWorld Heist II leans harder on optimization: squad builds, positioning strategy
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.