head to head
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is reads, and it is a single point.

Optimization · Pure Optimization
Engineer a pandemic; evolution order is the puzzle.

Optimization · Pure Optimization
Optimizing regional economics and city services to sustain growth without collapsing your budget.
Plague Inc: Evolved leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); SimCity 4 leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Plague Inc: Evolved
no reflex
SimCity 4
Point-and-click placement; zero reflex requirement
Plague Inc: Evolved leans a little harder on reads, though the gap is small.
Plague Inc: Evolved
world response scripted
SimCity 4
Solo sandbox with no adversarial pressure
Plague Inc: Evolved leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Plague Inc: Evolved
country event timing
SimCity 4
Neighbor city interactions and demand curves add unpredictability
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Plague Inc: Evolved
evolution order heavily solved
SimCity 4
Budget, ordinances, and transport networks are the core puzzle
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.