Building comparison
head to head
Etherlords IIvsPortal 2
Neither is simply harder - they are hard in different places. Etherlords II demands more variance; Portal 2 demands more execution.
Etherlords II
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Card-battle strategy testing deckbuilding math against draw luck.
Portal 2
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A first-person puzzle game where seeing the solution is the whole skill.
Etherlords II leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Portal 2 leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Etherlords IIPortal 2
Axis by axis
Execution0 vs 3
Portal 2 leans clearly harder on execution.
Etherlords II
Turn-based card play, no dexterity
Portal 2
Portal placement requires some precision but timing is lenient.
Reads2 vs 0
Etherlords II leans clearly harder on reads.
Etherlords II
Mostly AI duels; rare human matches add light bluffing
Portal 2
No opponent; puzzles are static.
Variance5 vs 0
Etherlords II leans clearly harder on variance.
Etherlords II
Card draws decide what each duel offers
Portal 2
Puzzles are deterministic with no randomness.
Optimization8 vs 9
Portal 2 leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Etherlords II
Deck construction and mana sequencing are deeply solvable
Portal 2
Solving the puzzle's logic IS the entire game.
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.