Building comparison
head to head
Portal 2vsScratches
Neither is simply harder - they are hard in different places. Portal 2 demands more execution; Scratches demands more variance.
Portal 2
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A first-person puzzle game where seeing the solution is the whole skill.
Scratches
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A slow-burn first-person adventure investigating strange scratching sounds in an isolated Victorian mansion.
Portal 2 leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Scratches leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Portal 2Scratches
Axis by axis
Execution3 vs 1
Portal 2 leans clearly harder on execution.
Portal 2
Portal placement requires some precision but timing is lenient.
Scratches
First-person point-and-click input is physically trivial
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Portal 2
No opponent; puzzles are static.
Scratches
No opponents at all, only an empty haunted estate
Variance0 vs 2
Scratches leans clearly harder on variance.
Portal 2
Puzzles are deterministic with no randomness.
Scratches
The mystery's hidden answers drive a blind first run
Optimization9 vs 7
Portal 2 leans clearly harder on optimization.
Portal 2
Solving the puzzle's logic IS the entire game.
Scratches
Investigation puzzles resolve to one fixed solution path
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.