head to head
vs
Ori and the Blind ForestvsShantae: Half-Genie Hero
Ori and the Blind Forest leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Shantae: Half-Genie Hero leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Ori and the Blind ForestShantae: Half-Genie Hero
Axis by axis
Execution7 vs 6
Ori and the Blind Forest leans harder on execution: Precise platforming and bash-chain escape sequences
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 1
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization4 vs 5
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero leans harder on optimization: Transformation toolkit and item-hunt backtracking
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.