head to head
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.

Optimization · Pure Optimization
A prehistoric settlement survival builder about guiding a tribe from stone age to iron age.

Optimization · Pure Optimization
Optimizing game development decisions around hidden genre-topic match formulas to maximize review scores and revenue.
Dawn of Man leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Game Dev Tycoon leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Dawn of Man
Light real-time camera and command work only.
Game Dev Tycoon
All choices are menu clicks with no physical ceiling
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Dawn of Man
Raiders and animals follow scripted, predictable behaviour.
Game Dev Tycoon
No adaptive human competitor to model
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Dawn of Man
Raid timing, weather and animal migrations add unknowns.
Game Dev Tycoon
Review scores and trend timing have meaningful randomness
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Dawn of Man
Tech progression, food logistics and settlement layout decide survival.
Game Dev Tycoon
Genre-topic-audience matching and R&D investment are learnable formulas
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.