head to head
Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's CursevsHero of the Kingdom III
Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos); Hero of the Kingdom III leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's CurseHero of the Kingdom III
Axis by axis
Execution0 vs 1
Hero of the Kingdom III leans harder on execution: Everything resolves through clicks, never reflexes
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance3 vs 2
Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse leans harder on variance: Art-theft mystery hides its heretical secret initially.
Optimization5 vs 5
Even - both lean on optimization about the same.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.

