Building comparison
head to head
Fallout SheltervsThrough the Darkest of Times
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.
Fallout Shelter
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A vault management sim about optimising dwellers, rooms, and resource loops.
Through the Darkest of Times
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Risk-budgeting resistance actions against historical events and probabilistic crackdowns.
Fallout Shelter leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Through the Darkest of Times leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Fallout ShelterThrough the Darkest of Times
Axis by axis
Execution0 vs 0
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Fallout Shelter
Tapping menus only
Through the Darkest of Times
Turn-based planning with no physical component
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Fallout Shelter
No opponent
Through the Darkest of Times
The regime escalates on historical script, not by modelling you
Variance4 vs 4
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Fallout Shelter
Incident spawns and lunchbox loot rolls
Through the Darkest of Times
Raids, arrests and event outcomes roll against hidden odds
Optimization7 vs 7
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Fallout Shelter
Dweller stats and room layout are fully solvable
Through the Darkest of Times
Balancing morale, funds and member risk is a solvable system
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.