Building comparison
head to head
Castlevania: Aria of SorrowvsThief Simulator 2
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A GBA metroidvania built around collecting enemy souls.
Thief Simulator 2
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A stealth sim about casing houses and planning optimal heists.
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Thief Simulator 2 leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Castlevania: Aria of SorrowThief Simulator 2
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 3
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Modest action timing
Thief Simulator 2
Lockpicking and stealth timing matter but stay light
Reads1 vs 2
Thief Simulator 2 leans a little harder on reads, though the gap is small.
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Scripted enemies
Thief Simulator 2
NPC patrols follow scripted routes, not adaptive
Variance3 vs 3
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Soul drops are heavily random
Thief Simulator 2
Loot contents and patrol timing add mild uncertainty
Optimization7 vs 7
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Soul build crafting dominates
Thief Simulator 2
Planning routes, tools and casing targets is the core
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.