head to head

The Curse of Monkey Island cover artvsThe Inner World cover art

The Curse of Monkey IslandvsThe Inner World

The Curse of Monkey Island leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Inner World leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).

EXECUTION0 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE3 /10OPTIMIZATION7 /10
The Curse of Monkey IslandThe Inner World

Axis by axis

Execution0 vs 0

Even - both lean on execution about the same.

Reads0 vs 0

Even - both lean on reads about the same.

Variance3 vs 2

The Curse of Monkey Island leans harder on variance: puzzle solutions unknown on first play, then fixed

Optimization7 vs 6

The Curse of Monkey Island leans harder on optimization: inventory logic puzzles are fully solvable

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

The Curse of Monkey Island

full breakdown

The Inner World