Building comparison
head to head
Alltynex SecondvsNine Sols
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is variance, and it is a single point.
Alltynex Second
Execution · Pure Mechanics
A top-down shmup testing dodging and aiming against memorizable bullet patterns.
Nine Sols
Execution · Pure Mechanics
Taopunk metroidvania whose parry-centric boss fights channel Sekiro in 2D.
Alltynex Second leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Nine Sols leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Alltynex SecondNine Sols
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.
Alltynex Second
Bullet-hell dodging and aiming are the whole skill
Nine Sols
Sekiro-style parry timing is the entire combat test
Reads1 vs 1
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Alltynex Second
Bosses are fixed patterns, not adaptive
Nine Sols
Bosses follow learnable scripts
Variance2 vs 1
Alltynex Second leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Alltynex Second
Patterns memorizable, little true randomness
Nine Sols
Deterministic authored world
Optimization5 vs 6
Nine Sols leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Alltynex Second
Learning safe routes and sword timing optimizes survival
Nine Sols
Moveset study, talismans, and route knowledge
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.