Building comparison
head to head
Dark Souls IIvsLords of the Fallen (2023)
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.
Dark Souls II
Execution · Practiced Mastery
The divisive middle Souls game, slower and stat-heavier than its siblings.
Lords of the Fallen (2023)
Execution · Practiced Mastery
A souls-like won by parry timing and dual-realm build routing.
Dark Souls II leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Lords of the Fallen (2023) leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Dark Souls IILords of the Fallen (2023)
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.
Dark Souls II
stamina and adaptability-gated dodge timing
Lords of the Fallen (2023)
Souls-like timing, parry and dodge windows
Reads1 vs 1
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Dark Souls II
invasions add rare human mind games
Lords of the Fallen (2023)
Scripted bosses, no adaptation
Variance1 vs 1
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Dark Souls II
fixed world, known after one trip
Lords of the Fallen (2023)
Minor loot variance
Optimization7 vs 7
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Dark Souls II
builds and boss patterns reward study
Lords of the Fallen (2023)
Build, dual-realm routing, gear planning matter
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.