head to head
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.

Optimization · Practiced Mastery
A retro-styled turn-based RPG about two solstice warriors.

Optimization · Practiced Mastery
A storybook underwater metroidvania about a girl piloting a homemade submarine to find her father.
Sea of Stars leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Song of the Deep leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Sea of Stars
Timed hits demand input precision.
Song of the Deep
Gentle submarine handling and claw manipulation
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Sea of Stars
Enemies are scripted.
Song of the Deep
Scripted sea creatures
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Sea of Stars
Light combat randomness.
Song of the Deep
Unknown undersea map first dive
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Sea of Stars
Combo and resource planning reward optimization.
Song of the Deep
Environmental puzzles and upgrade routing carry the game
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.