head to head
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.

Optimization · Pure Optimization
An open sandbox where mastering crafting and building systems dominates over any physical skill.

Optimization · Pure Optimization
A stealth game demanding meticulous route planning and equipment management to avoid guards who cannot be reliably fought.
Minecraft: Java Edition leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Thief: The Dark Project leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Thief: The Dark Project leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Minecraft: Java Edition
barely relevant, building/PvP negligible for most
Thief: The Dark Project
Combat is deliberately weak; sword timing matters only as last resort
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Minecraft: Java Edition
no adaptive opponent, sandbox play
Thief: The Dark Project
Guards use scripted patrol routes with no adaptive player modelling
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Minecraft: Java Edition
world gen and mob spawns randomized
Thief: The Dark Project
Guard alert states and random patrol timings introduce mission variance
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Minecraft: Java Edition
redstone, base/resource routing solvable systems
Thief: The Dark Project
Route planning, equipment loadout, and objective prioritisation are deeply 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.