head to head
vs
The MessengervsWild Guns
The Messenger leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Wild Guns leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
The MessengerWild Guns
Axis by axis
Execution7 vs 8
Wild Guns leans harder on execution: Simultaneous aiming and dodging defines the whole game
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 2
Wild Guns leans harder on variance: Bullet spawns vary slightly until patterns are absorbed
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.