head to head
vs
9 Clues: The Secret of Serpent CreekvsRusty Lake Hotel
9 Clues: The Secret of Serpent Creek leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Rusty Lake Hotel leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
9 Clues: The Secret of Serpent CreekRusty Lake Hotel
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 0
9 Clues: The Secret of Serpent Creek leans harder on execution: Clicking hidden objects needs only patience
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization5 vs 6
Rusty Lake Hotel leans harder on optimization: Chaining surreal puzzle logic per room is the whole game
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.