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

Optimization · Pure Optimization
Uncovering a fixed murder mystery through inventory puzzles and deduction.

Optimization · Pure Optimization
Logical item-and-spell puzzle chains inside a fixed two-protagonist fantasy story.
Still Life leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Dark Eye: Memoria leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Still Life
Pointing and clicking carries no physical demand
The Dark Eye: Memoria
Clicking hotspots has no dexterity component
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Still Life
The killer is a fixed narrative, not an adapting opponent
The Dark Eye: Memoria
Story beats are authored, nothing adapts to you
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Still Life
The mystery's facts are hidden until uncovered
The Dark Eye: Memoria
Puzzle solutions are hidden until experimentation reveals them
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Still Life
Inventory puzzles and deduction steps have fixed solutions
The Dark Eye: Memoria
Combining items and spells logically is the entire test
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.