Building comparison
head to head
BorderlandsvsImpossible Mission
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Borderlands
Optimization · Practiced Mastery
The original loot-driven co-op shooter set on the bandit world of Pandora.
Impossible Mission
Execution · Practiced Mastery
C64 classic about somersaulting past robots to assemble a password.
Borderlands leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Impossible Mission leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
BorderlandsImpossible Mission
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 6
Impossible Mission leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Borderlands
Standard FPS aim; numbers matter more than precision
Impossible Mission
Pixel-precise flips past patrolling robots
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Borderlands
Bandits and skags are scripted
Impossible Mission
Robots patrol on fixed behaviours
Variance4 vs 4
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Borderlands
Procedural loot drops gate your power
Impossible Mission
Puzzle pieces randomized each playthrough
Optimization6 vs 5
Borderlands leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Borderlands
Builds, gear math, and farming routes dominate
Impossible Mission
Search routing under the time limit
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.