Building comparison
head to head
FAR: Changing TidesvsThe Cave
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is variance, and it is a single point.
FAR: Changing Tides
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Meditative sequel sailing and diving a hybrid ship through flooded ruins.
The Cave
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Coordinating three characters through fixed object-logic puzzles.
FAR: Changing Tides leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Cave leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
FAR: Changing TidesThe Cave
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 2
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
FAR: Changing Tides
Simple swimming, climbing, and sail handling
The Cave
Undemanding platforming with no timing pressure
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
FAR: Changing Tides
Solo voyage with no adaptive opposition
The Cave
No adversary - a narrating cave is not a mind
Variance1 vs 2
The Cave leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
FAR: Changing Tides
Set-piece obstacles, little randomness
The Cave
Each character's section is unknown on first descent
Optimization5 vs 6
The Cave leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
FAR: Changing Tides
Managing sail, engine, and fuel loops efficiently
The Cave
Three-character object-shuffling puzzles are the whole 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.