Choose Coregrounds
Choose Coregrounds if you want a Free To Play and Early Access experience. On Steam, it's free to play, so the barrier to trying it is zero. Coregrounds launched in 2018.
Coregrounds vs Battle of Heroes 3
Coregrounds and Battle of Heroes 3 both land in Strategy, Indie 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, Indie on Steam. Coregrounds (2018) is 4 years older than Battle of Heroes 3 (2022). Coregrounds is free; Battle of Heroes 3 is paid (6.99 USD). 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 Battle of Heroes 3
Choose Battle of Heroes 3 if you want an Adventure, Massively Multiplayer, and RPG game with Online Co-op and Co-op. On Steam, it's the newer release (2022) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Battle of Heroes 3 launched in 2022.
Both Coregrounds and Battle of Heroes 3 sit in Strategy and Indie on Steam and both list Multi-player, Online PvP, and PvP, 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
 Coregrounds |  Battle of Heroes 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2018 | 2022 |
| Genres | Strategy, Indie, Free To Play, Early Access | Strategy, Indie, Adventure, Massively Multiplayer, RPG |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Unrated |
| Price | Free to play | 6.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 73.1% positive (52 reviews) | 4 reviews |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer | Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer, Online Co-op |
| Developers | nolife labs | Astafiev Egor |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Indie on Steam.
- Coregrounds (2018) is 4 years older than Battle of Heroes 3 (2022).
- Coregrounds is free; Battle of Heroes 3 is paid (6.99 USD).
- Battle of Heroes 3 has co-op; Coregrounds does not.
Coregrounds vs Battle of Heroes 3 — FAQ
- Should I play Coregrounds or Battle of Heroes 3 first?
- If you want chronology, Coregrounds (2018) came out before Battle of Heroes 3 (2022). 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 Coregrounds and Battle of Heroes 3 similar?
- They overlap on Strategy, Indie 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 Coregrounds free?
- Yes — Coregrounds is a free-to-play Steam title. Battle of Heroes 3 is paid (6.99 USD).