Building comparison
head to head
Bad NorthvsSilent Service
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.
Bad North
Optimization · Systems & Chaos
A minimalist real-time tactics roguelite about defending tiny procedural islands.
Silent Service
Optimization · Systems & Chaos
The classic WWII Pacific submarine simulator of stalking Japanese convoys and plotting torpedo attacks.
Bad North leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos); Silent Service leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos).
Bad NorthSilent Service
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 2
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Bad North
Real-time orders need only light micro.
Silent Service
Periscope aiming and timing matter, but pace is slow
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Bad North
Viking waves random, not adaptive.
Silent Service
Escort AI is scripted; no adaptive opponent
Variance5 vs 5
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Bad North
Procedural islands and enemy compositions.
Silent Service
Convoy composition and detection rolls are hidden randomness
Optimization7 vs 7
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Bad North
Unit positioning and upgrade choices solvable.
Silent Service
Torpedo solutions and approach plotting are solvable geometry
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.