Building comparison
head to head
The Excavation of Hob's BarrowvsThe Room Three
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.
The Excavation of Hob's Barrow
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A folk horror adventure about an antiquarian unearthing something best left buried on the moors.
The Room Three
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Methodically dissecting intricate puzzle boxes whose mechanisms are fully solvable.
The Excavation of Hob's Barrow leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Room Three leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
The Excavation of Hob's BarrowThe Room Three
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 1
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
The Excavation of Hob's Barrow
Pure point-and-click pacing
The Room Three
Rotating and prodding mechanisms takes no dexterity
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
The Excavation of Hob's Barrow
No adaptive opponent
The Room Three
The Craftsman is narrative dressing, not an adaptive mind
Variance3 vs 3
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
The Excavation of Hob's Barrow
Dread comes from unknowns that vanish on replay
The Room Three
Hidden mechanisms are unknown until inspected, then fixed
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 Excavation of Hob's Barrow
Linear puzzles with fixed solutions throughout
The Room Three
Each puzzle box is a fully solvable mechanical system
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.