Building comparison
head to head
Before We LeavevsCookie Clicker
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is variance, and it is a single point.
Before We Leave
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A nonviolent, cozy city builder about rebuilding civilization across hex-tile islands and planets.
Cookie Clicker
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The archetypal idle game where optimal purchase order is the entire skill.
Before We Leave leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Cookie Clicker leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Before We LeaveCookie Clicker
Axis by axis
Execution0 vs 0
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Before We Leave
Relaxed pace; no combat or timing pressure.
Cookie Clicker
Clicking is optional past the early game
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Before We Leave
No opponents at all; space whales are scripted hazards.
Cookie Clicker
No opponent
Variance1 vs 2
Cookie Clicker leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Before We Leave
Hex planet layouts vary slightly between runs.
Cookie Clicker
Golden cookie timing randomness
Optimization8 vs 9
Cookie Clicker leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Before We Leave
Supply chains across hex islands and planets are the entire test.
Cookie Clicker
Purchase order and ascension math are 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.