head to head
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.

Optimization · Pure Optimization
A turn-based strategy game where building the optimal army and economy decides victory.

Optimization · Pure Optimization
Open-world monster collecting where team-building optimization decides everything that matters.
Heroes of Might and Magic IV leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Pokémon Violet leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Heroes of Might and Magic IV
no real-time physical skill needed
Pokémon Violet
Turn-based menus, traversal needs no precision
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Heroes of Might and Magic IV
predicting human opponent strategy in PvP
Pokémon Violet
Only ranked human battles involve predicting switches
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Heroes of Might and Magic IV
combat rolls and map resources random
Pokémon Violet
Encounters, IVs and catch rolls add managed randomness
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Heroes of Might and Magic IV
army building and economy near-solvable
Pokémon Violet
Team building and type math dominate every battle
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.