Building comparison
head to head
Minecraft DungeonsvsStarbound
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Minecraft Dungeons
Optimization · Practiced Mastery
Family-friendly dungeon crawler that swaps Minecraft's building for loot and hack-and-slash.
Starbound
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A 2D sandbox of procedurally generated planets driven by crafting progression.
Minecraft Dungeons leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Starbound leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Minecraft DungeonsStarbound
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 3
Minecraft Dungeons leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Minecraft Dungeons
Dodge-rolls and kiting through mob swarms
Starbound
Light platforming and combat, generous margins
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Minecraft Dungeons
Enemies are scripted hordes
Starbound
Procedural NPCs follow simple fixed behaviours
Variance4 vs 4
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Minecraft Dungeons
Random loot and enchantment rolls drive power
Starbound
Procedural planets and loot keep early exploration unknown
Optimization6 vs 7
Starbound leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Minecraft Dungeons
Gear synergies and enchant builds carry difficulty
Starbound
Gear tiers, farming, and progression routes dominate
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.