Building comparison
head to head
IXIONvsPlants vs. Zombies
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
IXION
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Grim space colony sim about keeping a generation-ship station from collapsing.
Plants vs. Zombies
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Lane defense classic about managing a sun economy against shambling waves.
IXION leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Plants vs. Zombies leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
IXIONPlants vs. Zombies
Axis by axis
Execution0 vs 1
Plants vs. Zombies leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
IXION
Pause-friendly station management
Plants vs. Zombies
Clicking to plant, minimal pressure
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
IXION
Events follow story scripts
Plants vs. Zombies
Zombie waves follow set compositions
Variance3 vs 3
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
IXION
System events and exploration outcomes vary
Plants vs. Zombies
Wave timing and lane pressure vary mildly
Optimization9 vs 8
IXION leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
IXION
Hull sectors, power, and population logistics dominate
Plants vs. Zombies
Sun economy and lane setups are near-solvable
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.