Building comparison
head to head
Earthworm Jim 2vsXenon 2: Megablast
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.
Earthworm Jim 2
Execution · Practiced Mastery
Sequel platformer that swaps genres per level but always tests the hands.
Xenon 2: Megablast
Execution · Practiced Mastery
Memorise-and-execute shmup with a shop economy layered on fixed waves.
Earthworm Jim 2 leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Xenon 2: Megablast leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Earthworm Jim 2Xenon 2: Megablast
Axis by axis
Execution7 vs 7
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Earthworm Jim 2
Varied set-piece levels demand precise control
Xenon 2: Megablast
Weaving through bullet patterns and waves demands precise control
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Earthworm Jim 2
No adaptive opposition
Xenon 2: Megablast
Alien waves follow identical scripts every run
Variance1 vs 1
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Earthworm Jim 2
Deterministic levels and gimmicks
Xenon 2: Megablast
Fully deterministic once levels are learned
Optimization5 vs 5
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Earthworm Jim 2
Learning each surreal level's fixed solution
Xenon 2: Megablast
Shop economy and wave memorisation reward planned runs
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.