head to head
vs
SimCityvsSpace Engineers
SimCity leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Space Engineers leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
SimCitySpace Engineers
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 2
Space Engineers leans harder on execution: Piloting and welding are forgiving manual tasks
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization8 vs 9
Space Engineers leans harder on optimization: Ship design, power, and thrust math is the game
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.