Building comparison
head to head
ScratchesvsThe Curse of Monkey Island
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Scratches
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A slow-burn first-person adventure investigating strange scratching sounds in an isolated Victorian mansion.
The Curse of Monkey Island
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Comedic point-and-click adventure of Guybrush Threepwood, hand-drawn at its peak.
Scratches leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Curse of Monkey Island leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
ScratchesThe Curse of Monkey Island
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 0
Scratches leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Scratches
First-person point-and-click input is physically trivial
The Curse of Monkey Island
pointing and clicking only
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Scratches
No opponents at all, only an empty haunted estate
The Curse of Monkey Island
no adaptive opponent
Variance2 vs 3
The Curse of Monkey Island leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Scratches
The mystery's hidden answers drive a blind first run
The Curse of Monkey Island
puzzle solutions unknown on first play, then fixed
Optimization7 vs 7
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Scratches
Investigation puzzles resolve to one fixed solution path
The Curse of Monkey Island
inventory logic puzzles are fully 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.