Building comparison
head to head
PortalvsThe Bard's Tale IV
Neither is simply harder - they are hard in different places. Portal demands more execution; The Bard's Tale IV demands more variance.
Portal
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The portal-gun puzzle game whose solutions are everything.
The Bard's Tale IV
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A grid-based dungeon crawler about deep party building and environmental puzzles.
Portal leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Bard's Tale IV leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
PortalThe Bard's Tale IV
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 2
Portal leans clearly harder on execution.
Portal
Portal placement timing modest.
The Bard's Tale IV
grid-based combat needs little manual skill
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.
The Bard's Tale IV
scripted monster AI, no true adaptation
Variance0 vs 3
The Bard's Tale IV leans clearly harder on variance.
Portal
Deterministic chambers; no randomness.
The Bard's Tale IV
loot and encounter 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.
Portal
Pure puzzle-solving optimization.
The Bard's Tale IV
deep party build and puzzle-solving systems
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.