head to head
vs
Styx: Shards of DarknessvsThe Outer Worlds
Styx: Shards of Darkness leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Outer Worlds leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Styx: Shards of DarknessThe Outer Worlds
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 3
Styx: Shards of Darkness leans harder on execution: Climbing and kill-window timing are modest but present demands
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization8 vs 7
Styx: Shards of Darkness leans harder on optimization: Clone economy, rope optimisation, and route planning are the lead skill
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.