Building comparison
head to head
The Banner SagavsTorment: Tides of Numenera
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
The Banner Saga
Optimization · Systems & Chaos
Managing willpower resources and armor-strip sequencing under narrative-driven attrition.
Torment: Tides of Numenera
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A choice-driven RPG where allocating stats toward Tide alignment and crisis routing determines narrative outcomes.
The Banner Saga leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos); Torment: Tides of Numenera leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
The Banner SagaTorment: Tides of Numenera
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 1
The Banner Saga leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
The Banner Saga
Turn-based; willpower spend timing is the sole execution nuance
Torment: Tides of Numenera
Combat is explicitly optional; minimal motor demand throughout
Reads1 vs 1
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
The Banner Saga
AI follows predictable threat-targeting logic
Torment: Tides of Numenera
Crisis encounters use scripted AI patterns, no adaptive opponents
Variance5 vs 4
The Banner Saga leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
The Banner Saga
Armor/strength interaction and random narrative outcomes create variance
Torment: Tides of Numenera
Hidden Tide value thresholds and item interactions create unknown-information branches
Optimization7 vs 7
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
The Banner Saga
Willpower economy and armor-strip sequencing are learnable solutions
Torment: Tides of Numenera
Stat allocation, Tide routing and artefact loadout reward system knowledge
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.