Building comparison
head to head
New Super Mario Bros.vsShantae
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.
New Super Mario Bros.
Execution · Practiced Mastery
Modern 2D Mario platformer built on classic jump precision and hidden exits.
Shantae
Execution · Practiced Mastery
Tight handheld platforming plus route knowledge across a fixed explorable world.
New Super Mario Bros. leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Shantae leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
New Super Mario Bros.Shantae
Axis by axis
Execution6 vs 6
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
New Super Mario Bros.
Jump timing and momentum control carry every level
Shantae
Hair-whip timing and tight platforming on Game Boy hardware
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
New Super Mario Bros.
Enemies follow fixed scripted patterns
Shantae
Bosses run fixed patterns with no adaptation
Variance1 vs 1
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
New Super Mario Bros.
Levels fully deterministic once seen
Shantae
World layout is fixed once explored
Optimization5 vs 5
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
New Super Mario Bros.
Secret exits, star coins, and route knowledge
Shantae
Dance transformations and route knowledge unlock progress
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.