head to head

Shardlight cover artvsThe Sims 4 cover art

ShardlightvsThe Sims 4

Shardlight leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Sims 4 leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).

EXECUTION0 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE2 /10OPTIMIZATION6 /10
ShardlightThe Sims 4

Axis by axis

Execution0 vs 1

The Sims 4 leans harder on execution: no physical skill ceiling at all

Reads0 vs 0

Even - both lean on reads about the same.

Variance2 vs 1

Shardlight leans harder on variance: Plot and puzzle solutions are hidden until uncovered

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.

full breakdown

Shardlight

full breakdown

The Sims 4