head to head
vs
The Vanishing of Ethan CartervsWhere the Water Tastes Like Wine
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter leans Optimization (Light / Casual); Where the Water Tastes Like Wine leans Variance (Light / Casual).
The Vanishing of Ethan CarterWhere the Water Tastes Like Wine
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 0
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter leans harder on execution: Walking and looking, nothing more
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization3 vs 2
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter leans harder on optimization: Reconstructing event sequences is light deduction
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.