Building comparison
head to head
PainkillervsSuper Mario World
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is variance, and it is a single point.
Painkiller
Execution · Pure Mechanics
Old-school horror FPS about shredding demon hordes in arena-locked gothic levels.
Super Mario World
Execution · Pure Mechanics
Precise jump execution across fixed levels with secrets to memorise.
Painkiller leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Super Mario World leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
PainkillerSuper Mario World
Axis by axis
Execution7 vs 7
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Painkiller
Bunny-hopping and stake-gun aim against hordes
Super Mario World
Perfect inputs trivialise every jump, spin and cape flight
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Painkiller
Demons charge on fixed spawn scripts
Super Mario World
Scripted Koopas adapt to nothing
Variance2 vs 1
Painkiller leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Painkiller
Tarot card unlock conditions hidden initially
Super Mario World
Levels are fixed; nothing hidden survives one playthrough
Optimization4 vs 4
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Painkiller
Arena spawn knowledge and weapon-per-horde choices
Super Mario World
Secret exits and route knowledge add a modest solvable layer
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.