head to head
vs
Night in the WoodsvsSubmerged
Night in the Woods leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Submerged leans Optimization (Light / Casual).
Night in the WoodsSubmerged
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 1
Night in the Woods leans harder on execution: Platforming and mini-games add light motor demands
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 0
Night in the Woods leans harder on variance: Minimal randomness; story beats are authored
Optimization4 vs 3
Night in the Woods leans harder on optimization: Dialogue and exploration have no puzzle layer to solve systematically
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.