Building comparison
head to head
Hobo: Tough LifevsRaft
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.
Hobo: Tough Life
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A survival RPG testing resource management and city knowledge against the coming winter.
Raft
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Growing a floating base by solving resource chains and research order against scripted ocean threats.
Hobo: Tough Life leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Raft leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Hobo: Tough LifeRaft
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.
Hobo: Tough Life
Survival is menus and walking, not reflexes
Raft
Shark hook-attacks require minimal timing
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Hobo: Tough Life
NPCs run static dispositions, not adaptive minds
Raft
Shark and seagull AI are scripted with no player modelling
Variance4 vs 4
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Hobo: Tough Life
Weather, NPC moods and scavenging rolls pressure plans
Raft
Island loot tables and resource drift introduce randomness
Optimization7 vs 7
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Hobo: Tough Life
Managing hunger, money and winter prep is the real game
Raft
Raft expansion, food chains, and research order are 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.