head to head
vs
Sam & Max: Hit the RoadvsThe Excavation of Hob's Barrow
Sam & Max: Hit the Road leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Excavation of Hob's Barrow leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Sam & Max: Hit the RoadThe Excavation of Hob's Barrow
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 1
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 3
The Excavation of Hob's Barrow leans harder on variance: Dread comes from unknowns that vanish on replay
Optimization8 vs 7
Sam & Max: Hit the Road leans harder on optimization: Absurdist puzzle chains are fully solvable with lateral thinking
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.