Building comparison
head to head
Lamplight CityvsThe Dig
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Lamplight City
Optimization · Systems & Chaos
Careful evidence-gathering where wrong conclusions permanently shape the cases.
The Dig
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A LucasArts sci-fi adventure where astronauts stranded on an alien world puzzle out its dead civilization.
Lamplight City leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos); The Dig leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Lamplight CityThe Dig
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 0
Lamplight City leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Lamplight City
Point-and-click investigation, nothing physical
The Dig
Point-and-click; no reflex demands.
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Lamplight City
Suspects are written, not adapting to you
The Dig
Alien world is static; companions follow scripts.
Variance3 vs 3
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Lamplight City
Whodunits are hidden information until evidence surfaces
The Dig
Alien machinery's purpose is hidden until experimented with.
Optimization5 vs 6
The Dig leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Lamplight City
Connecting clues correctly - wrong accusations stick - is the test
The Dig
Machine puzzles have single fixed solutions to deduce.
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.