Building comparison
head to head
Black MesavsDeadbolt
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Black Mesa
Execution · Practiced Mastery
Fan-built ground-up remake of Half-Life with a reimagined Xen.
Deadbolt
Execution · Practiced Mastery
Planning a clean route through each level, then executing it without a single mistake.
Black Mesa leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Deadbolt leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Black MesaDeadbolt
Axis by axis
Execution6 vs 7
Deadbolt leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Black Mesa
Classic FPS aim and platforming sequences
Deadbolt
One-hit deaths demand precise shots and clean movement
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Black Mesa
Marines and aliens follow set scripts
Deadbolt
Undead follow patrol scripts, never modelling the player
Variance2 vs 2
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Black Mesa
Minor enemy placement surprises first run
Deadbolt
Enemy placements are mostly fixed with minor behavioural noise
Optimization6 vs 6
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Black Mesa
Route, resource, and encounter knowledge
Deadbolt
Planning entry routes and kill order is half the level
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.