head to head
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is reads, and it is a single point.

Optimization · Pure Optimization
More sandbox murder puzzles with routing as the core skill.

Optimization · Pure Optimization
More giant clockwork sandboxes where mapping NPC schedules is the real skill.
Hitman 2 leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Hitman 2 (2018) 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.
Hitman 2
Light input demands at action moments.
Hitman 2 (2018)
Minimal dexterity needed with a solid plan
Hitman 2 leans a little harder on reads, though the gap is small.
Hitman 2
NPCs follow fixed routines.
Hitman 2 (2018)
Clockwork NPC loops, nothing adapts
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Hitman 2
Minor patrol and disguise randomness.
Hitman 2 (2018)
Mission stories hidden until explored
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Hitman 2
Each map a routing optimization problem.
Hitman 2 (2018)
Routing, disguises, and unlocks converge on solved runs
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.