Building comparison
head to head
Pokémon SoulSilver VersionvsPortal
Neither is simply harder - they are hard in different places. Pokémon SoulSilver Version demands more variance; Portal demands more execution.
Pokémon SoulSilver Version
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Plannable type-matchup progression through two regions of fixed trainers.
Portal
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The portal-gun puzzle game whose solutions are everything.
Pokémon SoulSilver Version leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Portal leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Pokémon SoulSilver VersionPortal
Axis by axis
Execution0 vs 4
Portal leans clearly harder on execution.
Pokémon SoulSilver Version
Menu-driven battles have no physical component
Portal
Portal placement timing modest.
Reads1 vs 0
Pokémon SoulSilver Version leans a little harder on reads, though the gap is small.
Pokémon SoulSilver Version
Trainer AI is scripted; human battles are an optional sideline
Portal
No adversary modeling player.
Variance3 vs 0
Pokémon SoulSilver Version leans clearly harder on variance.
Pokémon SoulSilver Version
Catch rates, crits and encounters are bounded randomness
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 SoulSilver Version
Team building against known gyms is fully plannable
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.