Building comparison
head to head
PortalvsSkulls of the Shogun
Neither is simply harder - they are hard in different places. Portal demands more execution; Skulls of the Shogun demands more reads.
Portal
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The portal-gun puzzle game whose solutions are everything.
Skulls of the Shogun
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Tests turn-based positioning and resource play, sharpened by human opponents online.
Portal leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Skulls of the Shogun leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
PortalSkulls of the Shogun
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 1
Portal leans clearly harder on execution.
Portal
Portal placement timing modest.
Skulls of the Shogun
Turn-based orders need no dexterity
Reads0 vs 4
Skulls of the Shogun leans clearly harder on reads.
Portal
No adversary modeling player.
Skulls of the Shogun
Human multiplayer rewards anticipating opponent plans
Variance0 vs 2
Skulls of the Shogun leans clearly harder on variance.
Portal
Deterministic chambers; no randomness.
Skulls of the Shogun
Little hidden beyond minor attack variance
Optimization8 vs 8
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Portal
Pure puzzle-solving optimization.
Skulls of the Shogun
Positioning, skull-eating economy and zone control are 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.