Building comparison
head to head
Before We LeavevsForager
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, 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.
Forager
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A compulsive grind-and-automate sandbox where optimizing the resource loop is the whole game.
Before We Leave leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Forager leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Before We LeaveForager
Axis by axis
Execution0 vs 1
Forager leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Before We Leave
Relaxed pace; no combat or timing pressure.
Forager
Click-and-walk inputs, no dexterity ceiling
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.
Forager
No opponents
Variance1 vs 2
Forager leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Before We Leave
Hex planet layouts vary slightly between runs.
Forager
Minor drop randomness, quickly irrelevant
Optimization8 vs 8
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Before We Leave
Supply chains across hex islands and planets are the entire test.
Forager
Pure economy loop: automate, expand, compound
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.