head to head

Starfield cover artvsSystem Shock cover art

StarfieldvsSystem Shock

Starfield leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); System Shock leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).

EXECUTION5 /10READS1 /10VARIANCE3 /10OPTIMIZATION7 /10
StarfieldSystem Shock

Axis by axis

Execution5 vs 5

Even - both lean on execution about the same.

Reads1 vs 0

Starfield leans harder on reads: Scripted NPC AI patterns

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

Starfield

full breakdown

System Shock