head to head
vs
Milon's Secret CastlevsSteamWorld Dig
Milon's Secret Castle leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); SteamWorld Dig leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
Milon's Secret CastleSteamWorld Dig
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 4
Milon's Secret Castle leans harder on execution: Stiff jumping and bubble combat demand period-typical precision
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance5 vs 4
Milon's Secret Castle leans harder on variance: Progression hides behind unmarked secret blocks you must discover
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.