Building comparison
head to head
Metal SlugvsNot a Hero
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is reads, and it is a single point.
Metal Slug
Execution · Practiced Mastery
Twitch dodging and shooting layered over memorised arcade stage routes.
Not a Hero
Execution · Practiced Mastery
Twitchy cover-shooter rooms that reward drilled execution and memorised routes.
Metal Slug leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Not a Hero leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Metal SlugNot a Hero
Axis by axis
Execution8 vs 8
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Metal Slug
Dodging dense bullet patterns and precise shots carry every credit
Not a Hero
Slide-cancels, snap cover and reload timing decide every room
Reads0 vs 1
Not a Hero leans a little harder on reads, though the gap is small.
Metal Slug
Enemies follow fixed arcade scripts, never adapt
Not a Hero
Enemies follow fixed behaviours, nothing adapts to you
Variance1 vs 2
Not a Hero leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Metal Slug
Spawns are nearly deterministic once a stage is learned
Not a Hero
Minor enemy spawn jitter, levels otherwise deterministic
Optimization6 vs 6
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Metal Slug
One-credit clears come from memorising routes and spawn patterns
Not a Hero
Learning room layouts and routing kills enables full-clear runs
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.