head to head
vs
No Man's SkyvsPirates! Gold
No Man's Sky leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Pirates! Gold leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
No Man's SkyPirates! Gold
Axis by axis
Execution3 vs 4
Pirates! Gold leans harder on execution: Sword duels and ship handling need modest action timing
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance3 vs 4
Pirates! Gold leans harder on variance: Treasure locations and world state are hidden until discovered
Optimization8 vs 8
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.