Building comparison
head to head
Endless Space 2vsPortal
Neither is simply harder - they are hard in different places. Endless Space 2 demands more variance; Portal demands more execution.
Endless Space 2
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Space 4X with politics and faction-specific economies.
Portal
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The portal-gun puzzle game whose solutions are everything.
Endless Space 2 leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Portal leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Endless Space 2Portal
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 4
Portal leans clearly harder on execution.
Endless Space 2
turn-based
Portal
Portal placement timing modest.
Reads3 vs 0
Endless Space 2 leans clearly harder on reads.
Endless Space 2
AI scripted, some MP
Portal
No adversary modeling player.
Variance4 vs 0
Endless Space 2 leans clearly harder on variance.
Endless Space 2
system traits, anomalies
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.
Endless Space 2
economy, ships, populations 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.