Building comparison
head to head
Of Orcs and MenvsPortal
Portal asks more than Of Orcs and Men, and the gap is optimization.
Of Orcs and Men
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A tactical action RPG testing ability sequencing and build choices over reflexes.
Portal
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The portal-gun puzzle game whose solutions are everything.
Of Orcs and Men leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Portal leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Of Orcs and MenPortal
Axis by axis
Execution3 vs 4
Portal leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Of Orcs and Men
Slowed tactical combat forgives imprecise inputs
Portal
Portal placement timing modest.
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Of Orcs and Men
Enemy squads follow fixed behaviours
Portal
No adversary modeling player.
Variance1 vs 0
Of Orcs and Men leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Of Orcs and Men
Encounters are authored with little randomness
Portal
Deterministic chambers; no randomness.
Optimization6 vs 8
Portal leans clearly harder on optimization.
Of Orcs and Men
Skill queues, rage management and builds decide fights
Portal
Pure puzzle-solving optimization.
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.