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
Noir DS adventure about interrogating hotel guests to unpick a mystery.

Optimization · Pure Optimization
Tests playful experimentation with item combinations across a small storybook world.
Hotel Dusk: Room 215 leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Pilgrims 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.
Hotel Dusk: Room 215
Stylus puzzles need negligible dexterity
Pilgrims
Playing cards on scenes takes no dexterity
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Hotel Dusk: Room 215
Characters follow a fixed narrative script
Pilgrims
Charming NPCs react predictably, never adapt
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Hotel Dusk: Room 215
Story info hidden until questioned out
Pilgrims
Outcomes are scripted-but-unknown until experimented with
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Hotel Dusk: Room 215
Choosing right dialogue and solving set puzzles
Pilgrims
Finding multiple item-combination solutions is 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.