Building comparison
head to head
BioShock 2vsRed Dead Redemption
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.
BioShock 2
Execution · Practiced Mastery
Big Daddy POV return to Rapture with tighter combat systems.
Red Dead Redemption
Execution · Practiced Mastery
Open-world western about an outlaw forced to hunt down his old gang.
BioShock 2 leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Red Dead Redemption leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
BioShock 2Red Dead Redemption
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 5
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
BioShock 2
Dual-wield drill and gun timing matter.
Red Dead Redemption
Dead Eye softens but gunplay still wants aim
Reads1 vs 1
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
BioShock 2
Splicer AI scripted, not adaptive.
Red Dead Redemption
Multiplayer skirmishes add light human prediction
Variance2 vs 2
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
BioShock 2
Sister-gathering waves add randomness.
Red Dead Redemption
Ambient events and spawns vary mildly
Optimization5 vs 5
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
BioShock 2
Plasmid combos and gear loadouts solvable.
Red Dead Redemption
Mission approaches and economy are learnable
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.