Building comparison
head to head
Baba Is YouvsPortal
Neither is simply harder - they are hard in different places. Baba Is You demands more optimization; Portal demands more execution.
Baba Is You
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A rule-rewriting puzzle game that is pure deterministic problem solving.
Portal
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The portal-gun puzzle game whose solutions are everything.
Baba Is You leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Portal leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Baba Is YouPortal
Axis by axis
Execution0 vs 4
Portal leans clearly harder on execution.
Baba Is You
No reflex or input precision involved.
Portal
Portal placement timing modest.
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Baba Is You
No opponent; puzzles are static.
Portal
No adversary modeling player.
Variance0 vs 0
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Baba Is You
Puzzles fully deterministic with no hidden information.
Portal
Deterministic chambers; no randomness.
Optimization10 vs 8
Baba Is You leans clearly harder on optimization.
Baba Is You
Literally solvable — find the rule rewrite that wins.
Portal
Pure puzzle-solving optimization.
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.