head to head

The Curse of Monkey Island cover artvsZak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders cover art

The Curse of Monkey IslandvsZak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders

The Curse of Monkey Island leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos).

EXECUTION0 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE3 /10OPTIMIZATION7 /10
The Curse of Monkey IslandZak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders

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 4

Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders leans harder on variance: Globe-trotting item requirements are obscure on first play.

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

Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders