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 run-and-gun boss rush about dodging scripted patterns with tight inputs.

Execution · Practiced Mastery
High-speed maze execution along planned score-maximizing routes.
Cuphead leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Cuphead leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Cuphead
Tight dodging and parry timing decide every boss.
Pac-Man Championship Edition 2
Cornering at top speed under pressure decides scores
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Cuphead
Bosses cycle scripted phases; no adaptation to player.
Pac-Man Championship Edition 2
Ghost trains follow deterministic patterns
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Cuphead
Minor attack-order shuffling between phases.
Pac-Man Championship Edition 2
Mazes and spawns are fixed per course
Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Cuphead
Loadouts and boss phase order are fully learnable.
Pac-Man Championship Edition 2
Score routes and ghost-train herding are deeply plannable
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.