head to head
vs
Party HardvsSunless Skies
Party Hard leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos); Sunless Skies leans Variance (Systems & Chaos).
Party HardSunless Skies
Axis by axis
Execution3 vs 2
Party Hard leans harder on execution: Walking and stabbing need timing but little dexterity
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance5 vs 6
Sunless Skies leans harder on variance: Hidden ports, story branches and terror events
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.