Building comparison
head to head
Dungeon Siege IIvsPortal
Neither is simply harder - they are hard in different places. Dungeon Siege II demands more variance; Portal demands more execution.
Dungeon Siege II
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A party-based loot ARPG marching a customizable squad across Aranna against Valdis.
Portal
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The portal-gun puzzle game whose solutions are everything.
Dungeon Siege II leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Portal leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Dungeon Siege IIPortal
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 4
Portal leans clearly harder on execution.
Dungeon Siege II
Party combat mostly automates itself
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.
Dungeon Siege II
Enemies follow simple scripts
Portal
No adversary modeling player.
Variance5 vs 0
Dungeon Siege II leans clearly harder on variance.
Dungeon Siege II
Random loot and chant rewards
Portal
Deterministic chambers; no randomness.
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 Siege II
Party composition, pet raising, skill tree planning
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.