head to head
vs
Super Mario Bros.vsThe Messenger
Super Mario Bros. leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); The Messenger leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Super Mario Bros.The Messenger
Axis by axis
Execution8 vs 7
Super Mario Bros. leans harder on execution: Perfect inputs trivialise momentum jumps over fixed hazards
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance0 vs 1
The Messenger leans harder on variance: deterministic level design
Optimization5 vs 5
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.