Building comparison
head to head
FirewatchvsSOMA
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Firewatch
Optimization · Light / Casual
A first-person mystery about a fire lookout in a Wyoming forest.
SOMA
Optimization · Light / Casual
An underwater sci-fi horror about consciousness and identity.
Firewatch leans Optimization (Light / Casual); SOMA leans Optimization (Light / Casual).
FirewatchSOMA
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 2
SOMA leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Firewatch
Walking and radio dialogue only.
SOMA
Light stealth, gentle inputs.
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Firewatch
No adaptive opposition.
SOMA
Creatures follow scripts.
Variance1 vs 2
SOMA leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Firewatch
Minor environmental discoveries.
SOMA
Some hiding spot variation.
Optimization2 vs 3
SOMA leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Firewatch
Few systems to optimize.
SOMA
Few systems to optimize.
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.