Building comparison
head to head
Serious Sam: The First EncountervsSuper Mario Odyssey
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is variance, and it is a single point.
Serious Sam: The First Encounter
Execution · Pure Mechanics
A loud, high-endurance test of accurate crowd control against relentless scripted enemy swarms in open arenas.
Super Mario Odyssey
Execution · Pure Mechanics
A 3D platformer whose joy lives in tight movement and capture-driven traversal.
Serious Sam: The First Encounter leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Super Mario Odyssey leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Serious Sam: The First EncounterSuper Mario Odyssey
Axis by axis
Execution8 vs 8
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Serious Sam: The First Encounter
Sustained accurate fire against enormous enemy hordes demands constant aim
Super Mario Odyssey
Precise platforming and capture-move tech ceiling.
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Serious Sam: The First Encounter
All enemies are scripted and follow fixed rush patterns
Super Mario Odyssey
No adaptive opponents whatsoever.
Variance2 vs 1
Serious Sam: The First Encounter leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Serious Sam: The First Encounter
Enemy placement is consistent across runs; no hidden information
Super Mario Odyssey
Almost no randomness in level design.
Optimization4 vs 5
Super Mario Odyssey leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Serious Sam: The First Encounter
Enemy priority and positioning strategy are learnable but shallow
Super Mario Odyssey
Moon routes and movement tech learnable.
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.