Building comparison
head to head
Abadox: The Deadly Inner WarvsGhosts 'n Goblins
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.
Abadox: The Deadly Inner War
Execution · Pure Mechanics
One-hit-death shmup execution through memorised alien-intestine stage patterns.
Ghosts 'n Goblins
Execution · Pure Mechanics
Capcom's infamously punishing arcade platformer that makes you beat it twice for the real ending.
Abadox: The Deadly Inner War leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Ghosts 'n Goblins leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Abadox: The Deadly Inner WarGhosts 'n Goblins
Axis by axis
Execution9 vs 9
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Abadox: The Deadly Inner War
One-hit deaths make every dodge a perfect-input demand
Ghosts 'n Goblins
Committed jumps and pixel-precise throws, no mercy
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Abadox: The Deadly Inner War
Enemy waves are fully scripted
Ghosts 'n Goblins
Enemy spawns are scripted
Variance1 vs 1
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Abadox: The Deadly Inner War
Stages replay identically once seen
Ghosts 'n Goblins
Red Arremer movement adds slight noise
Optimization6 vs 6
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Abadox: The Deadly Inner War
Memorising spawns and checkpoint routes is mandatory
Ghosts 'n Goblins
Weapon choice and route memorisation are mandatory
A matching score does not mean a matching test. Two games can both sit at 10 on execution and demand completely different things of you - which is why the reasoning above matters more than the number beside it.