Building comparison
head to head
Dragon QuestvsPortal
Neither is simply harder - they are hard in different places. Dragon Quest demands more variance; Portal demands more execution.
Dragon Quest
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The 1986 original that founded the Japanese RPG template.
Portal
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The portal-gun puzzle game whose solutions are everything.
Dragon Quest leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Portal leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Dragon QuestPortal
Axis by axis
Execution0 vs 4
Portal leans clearly harder on execution.
Dragon Quest
Menu commands only
Portal
Portal placement timing modest.
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Dragon Quest
No adaptive opposition
Portal
No adversary modeling player.
Variance2 vs 0
Dragon Quest leans clearly harder on variance.
Dragon Quest
Battle RNG and unknown world first time
Portal
Deterministic chambers; no randomness.
Optimization7 vs 8
Portal leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Dragon Quest
Grind thresholds and routes are fully solvable
Portal
Pure puzzle-solving optimization.
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.