Building comparison
head to head
Pokémon ScarletvsPortal
Neither is simply harder - they are hard in different places. Pokémon Scarlet demands more variance; Portal demands more execution.
Pokémon Scarlet
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Open-world Pokémon where you tackle gyms and titans in any order.
Portal
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The portal-gun puzzle game whose solutions are everything.
Pokémon Scarlet leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Portal leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Pokémon ScarletPortal
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 4
Portal leans clearly harder on execution.
Pokémon Scarlet
Open-world traversal, battles stay menu-based
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.
Pokémon Scarlet
NPC trainers never adapt
Portal
No adversary modeling player.
Variance2 vs 0
Pokémon Scarlet leans clearly harder on variance.
Pokémon Scarlet
Open-world spawns and tera raids
Portal
Deterministic chambers; no randomness.
Optimization8 vs 8
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Pokémon Scarlet
Terastallize typing adds a planning layer
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.