Building comparison
head to head
FalloutvsShining in the Darkness
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is optimization, and it is a single point.
Fallout
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The original post-apocalyptic CRPG where character builds solve the wasteland.
Shining in the Darkness
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Methodically mapping a fixed labyrinth while managing levelling and gear economy.
Fallout leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Shining in the Darkness leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
FalloutShining in the Darkness
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 1
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Fallout
Turn-based, no dexterity
Shining in the Darkness
Menu-driven turn battles need no dexterity
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
No adaptive opposition
Shining in the Darkness
Monsters follow fixed behaviour tables
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
To-hit rolls and random encounters
Shining in the Darkness
Maze layout and random encounters are unknown until mapped
Optimization8 vs 7
Fallout leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Fallout
SPECIAL builds and quest routing are deeply solvable
Shining in the Darkness
Mapping the labyrinth and grinding gear efficiently is the 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.