Building comparison
head to head
Beneath a Steel SkyvsRusty Lake Hotel
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.
Beneath a Steel Sky
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Cyberpunk point-and-click adventure through a dystopian Australian mega-city.
Rusty Lake Hotel
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Untangling surreal fixed puzzle chains room by macabre room.
Beneath a Steel Sky leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Rusty Lake Hotel leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Beneath a Steel SkyRusty Lake Hotel
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.
Beneath a Steel Sky
Point-and-click; no dexterity required
Rusty Lake Hotel
Pointing and clicking - no dexterity involved
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Beneath a Steel Sky
No opponent; scripted characters
Rusty Lake Hotel
No opponents, only macabre puzzle rooms
Variance2 vs 2
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Beneath a Steel Sky
First-run puzzle surprises only
Rusty Lake Hotel
Solutions are hidden until discovered, then fixed
Optimization6 vs 6
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Beneath a Steel Sky
Inventory puzzle chains are fully solvable
Rusty Lake Hotel
Chaining surreal puzzle logic per room is the whole 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.