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

Optimization · Pure Optimization
Tower-defense math wrapped in a city-building economy to optimise.

Optimization · Pure Optimization
Exploiting the press-turn system through demon fusion and weakness math.
Bloons Monkey City leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Bloons Monkey City
Tower placement is unhurried clicking
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Turn-based menus carry zero dexterity demands
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Bloons Monkey City
Bloon waves never adapt to your defenses
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Brutal bosses still run fixed scripts
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Bloons Monkey City
Captured tile layouts and special events vary mildly
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Unknown boss gimmicks and fusion luck sting first attempts
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Bloons Monkey City
Tower math, city economy and unlock routing are the whole game
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Press-turn exploitation and fusion planning decide everything
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.