head to head
vs
Mortal ShellvsYs VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA
Mortal Shell leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Mortal ShellYs VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA
Axis by axis
Execution8 vs 8
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 2
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA leans harder on variance: Loot from fishing and gathering adds light RNG to item acquisition
Optimization6 vs 5
Mortal Shell leans harder on optimization: Shell choice and upgrade routing matter
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.