Building comparison
head to head
From DustvsMinecraft: Java Edition
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is variance, and it is a single point.
From Dust
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A god game about sculpting terrain to shepherd a tribe past simulated floods and lava.
Minecraft: Java Edition
Optimization · Pure Optimization
An open sandbox where mastering crafting and building systems dominates over any physical skill.
From Dust leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Minecraft: Java Edition leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
From DustMinecraft: Java Edition
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.
From Dust
Cursor-based terrain scooping, no dexterity ceiling
Minecraft: Java Edition
barely relevant, building/PvP negligible for most
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
From Dust
Nature isn't an adaptive opponent
Minecraft: Java Edition
no adaptive opponent, sandbox play
Variance2 vs 3
Minecraft: Java Edition leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
From Dust
Fluid simulation produces mild unpredictability
Minecraft: Java Edition
world gen and mob spawns randomized
Optimization7 vs 8
Minecraft: Java Edition leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
From Dust
Terraforming puzzles with discoverable optimal solutions
Minecraft: Java Edition
redstone, base/resource routing solvable systems
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.