Building comparison
head to head
FirewatchvsThe Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is variance, and it is a single point.
Firewatch
Optimization · Light / Casual
A first-person mystery about a fire lookout in a Wyoming forest.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Optimization · Light / Casual
A gorgeous first-person mystery about piecing together a boy's disappearance.
Firewatch leans Optimization (Light / Casual); The Vanishing of Ethan Carter leans Optimization (Light / Casual).
FirewatchThe Vanishing of Ethan Carter
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.
Firewatch
Walking and radio dialogue only.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Walking and looking, nothing more
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.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
No opponent
Variance1 vs 2
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Firewatch
Minor environmental discoveries.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
The mystery is hidden only until discovered
Optimization2 vs 3
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Firewatch
Few systems to optimize.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Reconstructing event sequences is light deduction
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.