head to head

Undertale cover artvsYakuza 5 cover art

UndertalevsYakuza 5

Undertale leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Yakuza 5 leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).

EXECUTION4 /10READS1 /10VARIANCE1 /10OPTIMIZATION7 /10
UndertaleYakuza 5

Axis by axis

Execution4 vs 5

Yakuza 5 leans harder on execution: Brawls, racing and rhythm segments need decent hands.

Reads1 vs 1

Even - both lean on reads about the same.

Variance1 vs 1

Even - both lean on variance about the same.

Optimization7 vs 6

Undertale leans harder on optimization: Learning fixed boss patterns and mercy routes wins

Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.

full breakdown

Undertale

full breakdown

Yakuza 5