head to head

Day of the Tentacle cover artvsZork: Grand Inquisitor cover art

Day of the TentaclevsZork: Grand Inquisitor

Day of the Tentacle leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Zork: Grand Inquisitor leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).

EXECUTION1 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE1 /10OPTIMIZATION9 /10
Day of the TentacleZork: Grand Inquisitor

Axis by axis

Execution1 vs 0

Day of the Tentacle leans harder on execution: SCUMM interface eliminates any timing or motor demand

Reads0 vs 0

Even - both lean on reads about the same.

Variance1 vs 1

Even - both lean on variance about the same.

Optimization9 vs 8

Day of the Tentacle leans harder on optimization: Cross-era cause-and-effect chains form a tightly solvable logic puzzle

Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.

full breakdown

Day of the Tentacle

full breakdown

Zork: Grand Inquisitor