Building comparison
head to head
DownfallvsStill Life
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is variance, and it is a single point.
Downfall
Optimization · Systems & Chaos
A grim point-and-click testing puzzle persistence through a fixed descent into madness.
Still Life
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Uncovering a fixed murder mystery through inventory puzzles and deduction.
Downfall leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos); Still Life leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
DownfallStill Life
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 1
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Downfall
Clicking through scenes has no motor demand
Still Life
Pointing and clicking carries no physical demand
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Downfall
Characters are scripted psyches, not adapting opponents
Still Life
The killer is a fixed narrative, not an adapting opponent
Variance4 vs 3
Downfall leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Downfall
Branching horrors are hidden until choices reveal them
Still Life
The mystery's facts are hidden until uncovered
Optimization6 vs 6
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Downfall
Puzzle chains and ending routes have fixed solutions
Still Life
Inventory puzzles and deduction steps have fixed solutions
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.