Building comparison
head to head
EricavsThe Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Erica
Variance · Light / Casual
A live-action FMV thriller steered through touchpad choices and gestures.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Optimization · Light / Casual
A gorgeous first-person mystery about piecing together a boy's disappearance.
Erica leans Variance (Light / Casual); The Vanishing of Ethan Carter leans Optimization (Light / Casual).
EricaThe Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Axis by axis
Execution0 vs 1
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Erica
Touch gestures with no skill ceiling
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Walking and looking, nothing more
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Erica
No opponent
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
No opponent
Variance3 vs 2
Erica leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Erica
Branch outcomes hidden on first viewing
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
The mystery is hidden only until discovered
Optimization3 vs 3
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Erica
Mapping choice branches across replays
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Reconstructing event sequences is light deduction
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.