Choose Dota 2
Choose Dota 2 if you want an Action game with SteamVR Collectibles, Steam Timeline, and Color Alternatives. On Steam, it has co-op, so you can bring a friend. 827,181 Steam reviews back the pick.
Dota 2 vs Coregrounds
Dota 2 and Coregrounds both land in Strategy, Free To Play 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 Strategy, Free To Play on Steam. Dota 2 (2013) is 5 years older than Coregrounds (2018). Dota 2 scores higher on Steam reviews (88.1% positive) than Coregrounds (73.1% 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 Coregrounds
Choose Coregrounds if you want an Indie and Early Access game with Online PvP and PvP. On Steam, it's the newer release (2018) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Coregrounds launched in 2018.
Both Dota 2 and Coregrounds sit in Strategy and Free To Play on Steam and both list Multi-player, 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
 Dota 2 |  Coregrounds | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2013 | 2018 |
| Genres | Action, Strategy, Free To Play | Strategy, Indie, Free To Play, Early Access |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Unrated |
| Price | Free to play | Free to play |
| Steam reviews | 88.1% positive (827,181 reviews) | 73.1% positive (52 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Co-op | Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer |
| Developers | Valve | nolife labs |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Free To Play on Steam.
- Dota 2 (2013) is 5 years older than Coregrounds (2018).
- Dota 2 scores higher on Steam reviews (88.1% positive) than Coregrounds (73.1% positive).
- Both are free to play.
- Dota 2 has co-op; Coregrounds does not.
- Dota 2 is Deck Playable on Steam Deck; Coregrounds has no Deck rating yet.
Dota 2 vs Coregrounds — FAQ
- Should I play Dota 2 or Coregrounds first?
- If you want chronology, Dota 2 (2013) came out before Coregrounds (2018). 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 Dota 2 and Coregrounds similar?
- They overlap on Strategy, Free To Play 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.
- Does Dota 2 run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Dota 2 is rated Deck Playable by Valve. Coregrounds doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.