head to head
vs
State of DecayvsThe Church in the Darkness
State of Decay leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); The Church in the Darkness leans Variance (Systems & Chaos).
State of DecayThe Church in the Darkness
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 3
State of Decay leans harder on execution: Melee and driving are functional, not demanding
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance4 vs 6
The Church in the Darkness leans harder on variance: Each run rerolls whether the cult is benign or murderous
Optimization6 vs 5
State of Decay leans harder on optimization: Base building, resource runs and survivor management are 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.