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
A watercolor tactical RPG mixing turn-based command with real-time aiming.
Hitman 2 leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Valkyria Chronicles 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.
Valkyria Chronicles
Manual third-person aiming inside turns helps
Hitman 2 leans a little harder on reads, though the gap is small.
Hitman 2
NPCs follow fixed routines.
Valkyria Chronicles
Enemy AI is scripted and exploitable
Valkyria Chronicles leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Hitman 2
Minor patrol and disguise randomness.
Valkyria Chronicles
Accuracy rolls and interception fire add noise
Hitman 2 leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Hitman 2
Each map a routing optimization problem.
Valkyria Chronicles
Unit positioning, class use, and turn routing dominate
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.