Building comparison
head to head
FalloutvsStranger of Sword City
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is variance, and it is a single point.
Fallout
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The original post-apocalyptic CRPG where character builds solve the wasteland.
Stranger of Sword City
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Party-build optimisation and risk management in a punishing turn-based dungeon crawl.
Fallout leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Stranger of Sword City leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
FalloutStranger of Sword City
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
Stranger of Sword City
Turn-based menus carry no physical demand
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
Stranger of Sword City
Monsters follow fixed logic with no adaptation
Variance4 vs 5
Stranger of Sword City leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Fallout
To-hit rolls and random encounters
Stranger of Sword City
Encounter rolls, drops and permadeath risk shape runs
Optimization8 vs 8
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Fallout
SPECIAL builds and quest routing are deeply solvable
Stranger of Sword City
Party builds, class changes and risk management are 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.