Building comparison
head to head
Dungeon of the EndlessvsTorchlight
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Dungeon of the Endless
Optimization · Systems & Chaos
A roguelike tower-defense hybrid about escorting a crystal through a randomised dungeon.
Torchlight
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A breezy dungeon-crawling loot game about builds and ever-better randomized gear.
Dungeon of the Endless leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos); Torchlight leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Dungeon of the EndlessTorchlight
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 2
Torchlight leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Dungeon of the Endless
Pause-friendly control, no twitch demands
Torchlight
Click-to-kill combat with minimal mechanical 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.
Dungeon of the Endless
Monster waves spawn by fixed door-opening rules
Torchlight
Solo dungeon crawl, no adaptive opposition
Variance6 vs 5
Dungeon of the Endless leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Dungeon of the Endless
Unknown rooms and random hero or item finds
Torchlight
Randomized loot and dungeon layouts gate power
Optimization8 vs 8
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Dungeon of the Endless
Dust economy and turret placement are the real game
Torchlight
Build paths and gear stats are the real game
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.