Building comparison
head to head
Nine SolsvsSuper Mario Odyssey
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Nine Sols
Execution · Pure Mechanics
Taopunk metroidvania whose parry-centric boss fights channel Sekiro in 2D.
Super Mario Odyssey
Execution · Pure Mechanics
A 3D platformer whose joy lives in tight movement and capture-driven traversal.
Nine Sols leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Super Mario Odyssey leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Nine SolsSuper Mario Odyssey
Axis by axis
Execution9 vs 8
Nine Sols leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Nine Sols
Sekiro-style parry timing is the entire combat test
Super Mario Odyssey
Precise platforming and capture-move tech ceiling.
Reads1 vs 0
Nine Sols leans a little harder on reads, though the gap is small.
Nine Sols
Bosses follow learnable scripts
Super Mario Odyssey
No adaptive opponents whatsoever.
Variance1 vs 1
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Nine Sols
Deterministic authored world
Super Mario Odyssey
Almost no randomness in level design.
Optimization6 vs 5
Nine Sols leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Nine Sols
Moveset study, talismans, and route knowledge
Super Mario Odyssey
Moon routes and movement tech learnable.
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.