Building comparison
head to head
Castlevania II: Simon's QuestvsStarbound
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
Optimization · Pure Optimization
An infamously cryptic NES adventure where lying villagers obscure how to break Dracula's curse.
Starbound
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A 2D sandbox of procedurally generated planets driven by crafting progression.
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Starbound leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Castlevania II: Simon's QuestStarbound
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 3
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
Modest whip combat; day-night enemies.
Starbound
Light platforming and combat, generous margins
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
No adaptive opposition.
Starbound
Procedural NPCs follow simple 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.
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
Deliberately false villager clues hide the real path.
Starbound
Procedural planets and loot keep early exploration unknown
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 II: Simon's Quest
Once decoded, it is pure item-and-route knowledge.
Starbound
Gear tiers, farming, and progression routes dominate
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.