head to head
vs
Red Dead RedemptionvsSea of Stars
Red Dead Redemption leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Sea of Stars leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
Red Dead RedemptionSea of Stars
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 4
Red Dead Redemption leans harder on execution: Dead Eye softens but gunplay still wants aim
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization5 vs 6
Sea of Stars leans harder on optimization: Combo and resource planning reward optimization.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.