Building comparison
head to head
DescentvsSuper Mario Odyssey
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is variance, and it is a single point.
Descent
Execution · Practiced Mastery
Pioneering six-degrees-of-freedom shooter through robot-infested mines.
Super Mario Odyssey
Execution · Pure Mechanics
A 3D platformer whose joy lives in tight movement and capture-driven traversal.
Descent leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Super Mario Odyssey leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
DescentSuper Mario Odyssey
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.
Descent
Full 6DOF control and aim under disorientation is the test
Super Mario Odyssey
Precise platforming and capture-move tech ceiling.
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Descent
Scripted robot behaviors, no adaptation
Super Mario Odyssey
No adaptive opponents whatsoever.
Variance2 vs 1
Descent leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Descent
Mine layouts fixed; ambushes surprise only once
Super Mario Odyssey
Almost no randomness in level design.
Optimization6 vs 5
Descent leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Descent
Route memorization and weapon economy reward optimization
Super Mario Odyssey
Moon routes and movement tech learnable.
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.