head to head
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.

Execution · Practiced Mastery
Deliberate retro platform execution with character-swap route planning.

Execution · Practiced Mastery
The fan-favourite sequel with harder levels and deeper secrets.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon
Stiff retro jumps and boss dodges demand committed inputs
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Demanding jump chains and animal-buddy control
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon
Bosses telegraph from strictly fixed scripts
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Fixed enemy patterns, no adaptation
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon
Levels are deterministic on every run
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Secret Lost World entrances hidden until found
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon
Character-swap routing and branch choices reward planning
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Routes, DK coins, and bonuses fully mappable
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.
full breakdown
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon →
full breakdown
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest →