Building comparison
head to head
Contra: Hard CorpsvsDonkey Kong
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Contra: Hard Corps
Execution · Pure Mechanics
Memorising brutal scripted patterns and executing them without a single slip.
Donkey Kong
Execution · Practiced Mastery
The 1981 arcade classic of climbing girders and dodging barrels.
Contra: Hard Corps leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Donkey Kong leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Contra: Hard CorpsDonkey Kong
Axis by axis
Execution9 vs 8
Contra: Hard Corps leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Contra: Hard Corps
One-hit deaths under relentless bullet pressure demand perfect inputs
Donkey Kong
Frame-tight jumps over barrels under arcade pressure
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Contra: Hard Corps
Bosses are fully scripted setpieces
Donkey Kong
Fixed arcade patterns, nothing adapts
Variance1 vs 1
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Contra: Hard Corps
Everything fixed once routes and patterns are known
Donkey Kong
Barrel bounces add slight unpredictability
Optimization6 vs 6
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Contra: Hard Corps
Memorising boss patterns, weapons and branching routes is mandatory
Donkey Kong
Stage patterns and score routes fully learnable
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.