Building comparison
head to head
PortalvsRiven: The Sequel to Myst
Portal asks more than Riven: The Sequel to Myst, and the gap is execution.
Portal
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The portal-gun puzzle game whose solutions are everything.
Riven: The Sequel to Myst
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A cerebral puzzle-adventure that is essentially a logic puzzle to be fully solved.
Portal leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Riven: The Sequel to Myst leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
PortalRiven: The Sequel to Myst
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 0
Portal leans clearly harder on execution.
Portal
Portal placement timing modest.
Riven: The Sequel to Myst
no reflex or physical skill required
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
No adversary modeling player.
Riven: The Sequel to Myst
no opponent present in the game
Variance0 vs 0
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Portal
Deterministic chambers; no randomness.
Riven: The Sequel to Myst
fully deterministic puzzle world
Optimization8 vs 9
Riven: The Sequel to Myst leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Portal
Pure puzzle-solving optimization.
Riven: The Sequel to Myst
pure logic-puzzle solving, walkthrough-solvable
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.