head to head
vs
SpintiresvsThief: Deadly Shadows
Spintires leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Thief: Deadly Shadows leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
SpintiresThief: Deadly Shadows
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 4
Spintires leans harder on execution: Throttle finesse and winching through mud need careful hands
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance3 vs 3
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization7 vs 8
Thief: Deadly Shadows leans harder on optimization: Light, sound, and route mastery makes ghosting solvable
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.