Required Disclaimer for Critics: This is supposed to be taken with a grain of salt as it is just my opinion on how settings can be differentiated, and uses a 1-10 scale for convenience. You may feel that one setting or book is completely different from my interpretation, etc. etc.
In my opinion, settings are distinguished by three factors or scales: time period, prevalence of unobtanium, and general feeling. The time period is quite obvious, being whether it is set in the Dark Ages, modernity, or the the distant future. The prevalence of unobtanium is slightly more complex. Unobtanium is not necessarily metal no. X that doesn't exist in the real world, it is anything that you can not find or possess, such as magic, advanced technology, portals, or anything of the sort. Because of this, a heavy sci-fi campaign with F.T.L. travel has a high level of unobtanium, but so does a high fantasy setting with mighty spell wielding arch mages. In contrast, a sword and sorcery campaign, where there are few instances of wizards and mystical elements, or a campaign set in the modern world, would have a low level of unobtanium. The feeling is whether it is supposed to be a horror or creepy campaign or a light-hearted and funny campaign. I'll rate a few books for example of how I think this works. For time period, 5 is the default, for unobtanium, 1 is the default, and for feeling, 5 is the default.
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
Time Period: 5 (Normal)
Unobtanium: 10 (Very High)
Feeling: 8 (Quite Humorous)
Conan:
Time Period: 2 (Far Past)
Unobtanium: 3 (Some Magic)
Feeling: 3 (Fairly Gritty/Dangerous)
The Call of Cthulhu:
Time Period: 4 (Recent Past)
Unobtanium: 2 (Very Concentrated Eldritch Power)
Feeling: 1 (Horrific and Existential)
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