Choose The Five Cores Remastered
Choose The Five Cores Remastered if you want a Free To Play experience. On Steam, it's free to play, so the barrier to trying it is zero. The Five Cores Remastered launched in 2019.
The Five Cores Remastered vs Riven
The Five Cores Remastered and Riven both land in Indie, Adventure on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Indie, Adventure on Steam. The Five Cores Remastered (2019) is 5 years older than Riven (2024). Riven scores higher on Steam reviews (93.5% positive) than The Five Cores Remastered (68.2% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Riven
Choose Riven if you want a Casual game with HDR available, Color Alternatives, and Camera Comfort. On Steam, it's the newer release (2024) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 2,175 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both The Five Cores Remastered and Riven sit in Indie and Adventure on Steam and both list Tracked Controller Support and VR Supported, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 The Five Cores Remastered |  Riven | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2019 | 2024 |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure, Free To Play | Indie, Adventure, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows, macOS |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Deck Verified |
| Price | Free to play | 34.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 68.2% positive (22 reviews) | 93.5% positive (2,175 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Matthieu Gouby | Cyan Worlds, Inc. |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, Adventure on Steam.
- The Five Cores Remastered (2019) is 5 years older than Riven (2024).
- Riven scores higher on Steam reviews (93.5% positive) than The Five Cores Remastered (68.2% positive).
- The Five Cores Remastered is free; Riven is paid (34.99 USD).
- Riven is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; The Five Cores Remastered has no Deck rating yet.
The Five Cores Remastered vs Riven — FAQ
- Should I play The Five Cores Remastered or Riven first?
- If you want chronology, The Five Cores Remastered (2019) came out before Riven (2024). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are The Five Cores Remastered and Riven similar?
- They overlap on Indie, Adventure on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Is The Five Cores Remastered free?
- Yes — The Five Cores Remastered is a free-to-play Steam title. Riven is paid (34.99 USD).