head to head
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.

Execution · Pure Mechanics
A precision flying test of rescuing hostages under scripted fire.

Execution · Pure Mechanics
Landmark FPS built on physics puzzles and tight gunplay.
Choplifter! leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Half-Life 2 leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Choplifter! leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Choplifter!
Precise helicopter control under fire is the entire challenge
Half-Life 2
Gravity gun and shooting demand precision.
Half-Life 2 leans a little harder on reads, though the gap is small.
Choplifter!
Tanks and jets attack on fixed logic
Half-Life 2
Combine AI scripted, non-adaptive.
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Choplifter!
Threats are predictable after a few runs
Half-Life 2
Almost no randomness.
Choplifter! leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Choplifter!
Routing rescue trips efficiently maximises the 64 hostages
Half-Life 2
Linear progression with no builds.
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.