Building comparison
head to head
PortalvsScratches
Neither is simply harder - they are hard in different places. Portal demands more execution; Scratches demands more variance.
Portal
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The portal-gun puzzle game whose solutions are everything.
Scratches
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A slow-burn first-person adventure investigating strange scratching sounds in an isolated Victorian mansion.
Portal leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Scratches leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
PortalScratches
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 1
Portal leans clearly harder on execution.
Portal
Portal placement timing modest.
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
No adversary modeling player.
Scratches
No opponents at all, only an empty haunted estate
Variance0 vs 2
Scratches leans clearly harder on variance.
Portal
Deterministic chambers; no randomness.
Scratches
The mystery's hidden answers drive a blind first run
Optimization8 vs 7
Portal leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Portal
Pure puzzle-solving optimization.
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.