head to head
vs
Pathologic 2vsXCOM: Enemy Unknown
Pathologic 2 leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos); XCOM: Enemy Unknown leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos).
Pathologic 2XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 3
Pathologic 2 leans harder on execution: Combat is clumsy but matters.
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance6 vs 7
XCOM: Enemy Unknown leans harder on variance: Hit chances, crit rolls, and mission spawns create constant RNG swings
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.