Building comparison
head to head
P.T.vsPortal
Neither is simply harder - they are hard in different places. P.T. demands more variance; Portal demands more execution.
P.T.
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Decoding deliberately obscure puzzle triggers inside one repeating haunted hallway.
Portal
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The portal-gun puzzle game whose solutions are everything.
P.T. leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Portal leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
P.T.Portal
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 4
Portal leans clearly harder on execution.
P.T.
Walking a looping hallway - no dexterity test
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.
P.T.
Lisa's hauntings trigger on hidden scripts, not adaptation
Portal
No adversary modeling player.
Variance3 vs 0
P.T. leans clearly harder on variance.
P.T.
Obscure trigger conditions are hidden information to map
Portal
Deterministic chambers; no randomness.
Optimization6 vs 8
Portal leans clearly harder on optimization.
P.T.
Deciphering the cryptic final puzzle is the entire game
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.