Building comparison
head to head
Eriksholm: The Stolen DreamvsPortal
Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream asks more than Portal, and the gap is variance.
Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Narrative stealth puzzles solved by planning routes through scripted patrols.
Portal
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The portal-gun puzzle game whose solutions are everything.
Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Portal leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Eriksholm: The Stolen DreamPortal
Axis by axis
Execution3 vs 4
Portal leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream
Timing patrol gaps needs only modest dexterity
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.
Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream
Guards run fixed vision cones and routes
Portal
No adversary modeling player.
Variance2 vs 0
Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream leans clearly harder on variance.
Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream
Each scene is fully readable before acting
Portal
Deterministic chambers; no randomness.
Optimization7 vs 8
Portal leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream
Solving multi-character stealth routes is the whole game
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.