Building comparison
head to head
Black MesavsOut of This World
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is variance, and it is a single point.
Black Mesa
Execution · Practiced Mastery
Fan-built ground-up remake of Half-Life with a reimagined Xen.
Out of This World
Optimization · Practiced Mastery
Trial-and-error memorisation of fixed death sequences, then executing the learned solution precisely.
Black Mesa leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Out of This World leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
Black MesaOut of This World
Axis by axis
Execution6 vs 6
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Black Mesa
Classic FPS aim and platforming sequences
Out of This World
Precise jump and laser timing within tight scripted windows
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
Out of This World
Every threat is a fixed script, never adapting
Variance2 vs 3
Out of This World leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Black Mesa
Minor enemy placement surprises first run
Out of This World
Deaths come from unknown scripted traps until memorised
Optimization6 vs 7
Out of This World leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Black Mesa
Route, resource, and encounter knowledge
Out of This World
The game is solved by mapping each screen's exact sequence
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.