Building comparison
head to head
GunpointvsThe Cave
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is variance, and it is a single point.
Gunpoint
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Noir stealth puzzler about rewiring buildings so guards defeat themselves.
The Cave
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Coordinating three characters through fixed object-logic puzzles.
Gunpoint leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Cave leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
GunpointThe 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.
Gunpoint
Jump timing matters occasionally, lightly
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.
Gunpoint
Guards patrol on fixed scripts
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.
Gunpoint
Levels fully visible and deterministic
The Cave
Each character's section is unknown on first descent
Optimization7 vs 6
Gunpoint leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Gunpoint
Crosslink rewiring puzzles have clean optimal solutions
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.