head to head

Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers cover artvsThe Room Three cover art

Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time RippersvsThe Room Three

Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos); The Room Three leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).

EXECUTION2 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE5 /10OPTIMIZATION7 /10
Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time RippersThe Room Three

Axis by axis

Execution2 vs 1

Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers leans harder on execution: A few chase and arcade sequences demand modest dexterity

Reads0 vs 0

Even - both lean on reads about the same.

Variance5 vs 3

Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers leans harder on variance: Hidden death traps and unknown item uses until learned

Optimization7 vs 7

Even - both lean on optimization about the same.

Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.

full breakdown

Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers

full breakdown

The Room Three