Building comparison
head to head
AlleywayvsNew Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Alleyway
Execution · Pure Mechanics
A pure paddle-precision breakout test with nothing hidden beneath.
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
Execution · Pure Mechanics
A classic 2D Mario platformer rewarding tight jump execution above all.
Alleyway leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
AlleywayNew Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
Axis by axis
Execution7 vs 8
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Alleyway
Paddle precision and angle control decide every screen
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
precise jump and platforming execution
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Alleyway
Bricks cannot fight back
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
fixed enemy patterns, no adaptation
Variance1 vs 1
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Alleyway
Ball physics are deterministic with minor bounce uncertainty
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
minor enemy placement randomness
Optimization2 vs 3
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Alleyway
Brick-clearing order barely matters beyond basics
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
level routing for speed/collectibles
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.