Building comparison
head to head
Crash BandicootvsMercs
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.
Crash Bandicoot
Execution · Pure Mechanics
Precision 3D platformer of narrow corridors, crates, and unforgiving jumps.
Mercs
Execution · Pure Mechanics
Arcade run-and-gun testing crowd dodging and spawn memorisation.
Crash Bandicoot leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Mercs leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Crash BandicootMercs
Axis by axis
Execution8 vs 8
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Crash Bandicoot
Tight jumps on narrow paths punish slop
Mercs
Run-and-gun crowd weaving at arcade pace is everything
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Crash Bandicoot
Hazards are fixed patterns
Mercs
Soldiers spawn on fixed scripts
Variance1 vs 1
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Crash Bandicoot
Everything scripted and placed
Mercs
Spawn tables barely vary between credits
Optimization5 vs 5
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Crash Bandicoot
Box routes and gem requirements are learnable
Mercs
Weapon pickups and route memorisation stretch each credit
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.