Building comparison
head to head
BanishedvsThe Alters
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is variance, and it is a single point.
Banished
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Harsh village-builder; balance population, food, and winter.
The Alters
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Scheduling scarce time and resources across a base run by copies of yourself.
Banished leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Alters leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
BanishedThe Alters
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 1
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Banished
no mechanical layer
The Alters
Third-person walking and menus, no twitch demands
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Banished
no opponent
The Alters
No adaptive opponent, only systems and story beats
Variance3 vs 4
The Alters leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Banished
weather, disease events
The Alters
Unscouted events and alter reactions surprise first runs
Optimization9 vs 8
Banished leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Banished
population ratios and food planning
The Alters
Time, resource and crew scheduling under deadlines is the game
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.