head to head

Secret of Mana cover artvsThe Evil Within 2 cover art

Secret of ManavsThe Evil Within 2

Secret of Mana leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); The Evil Within 2 leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).

EXECUTION5 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE3 /10OPTIMIZATION7 /10
Secret of ManaThe Evil Within 2

Axis by axis

Execution5 vs 6

The Evil Within 2 leans harder on execution: Open-zone combat demands solid aim and positioning

Reads0 vs 1

The Evil Within 2 leans harder on reads: Enemies are scripted; no adaptive opponent

Variance3 vs 3

Even - both lean on variance about the same.

Optimization7 vs 7

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.

full breakdown

Secret of Mana

full breakdown

The Evil Within 2