Building comparison
head to head
Lara Croft GovsPokémon Red
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Lara Croft Go
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Turn-based board-puzzle distillation of Tomb Raider's traps and tombs.
Pokémon Red
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The original monster-collecting RPG that built the catch-train-battle loop.
Lara Croft Go leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Pokémon Red leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Lara Croft GoPokémon Red
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 0
Lara Croft Go leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Lara Croft Go
Turn-based taps, zero dexterity
Pokémon Red
Turn-based menus
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Lara Croft Go
Hazards move on fixed rules
Pokémon Red
Trainer AI is rudimentary and fixed
Variance1 vs 2
Pokémon Red leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Lara Croft Go
Everything visible on the board
Pokémon Red
Wild encounters and catch rolls
Optimization8 vs 8
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Lara Croft Go
Each level is a solvable movement puzzle
Pokémon Red
Type matchups and team building solve the campaign
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.