head to head
vs
Clock Tower 3vsPenumbra: Black Plague
Clock Tower 3 leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos); Penumbra: Black Plague leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos).
Clock Tower 3Penumbra: Black Plague
Axis by axis
Execution3 vs 2
Clock Tower 3 leans harder on execution: Evasion timing and the panic meter punish clumsy hands lightly
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance5 vs 5
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization6 vs 7
Penumbra: Black Plague leans harder on optimization: Physics puzzles and evasion routes are fully solvable
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.