head to head
vs
Sonic ManiavsYooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair
Sonic Mania leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Sonic ManiaYooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair
Axis by axis
Execution7 vs 7
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 1
Sonic Mania leans harder on variance: Mostly deterministic with hidden routes
Optimization5 vs 4
Sonic Mania leans harder on optimization: Route knowledge dominates speedruns
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.