Black Moon Chronicles

Black Moon Chronicles is an ancient abandonware game from 1999. It's a whopping 25 years old at the time of this review. The game lacks support for any modern gaming display resolutions (or widescreen monitors), hasn't been modernised or updated to run smoothly on modern gaming PCs. Despite this lack of modernisation, it carries a pretty high price tag for such an ancient game. This seems to have been put on Steam as a nostalgia gouge, or just a cash grab to try profit from abandonware. This is a fairly mediocre RTS, basically a Warcraft: Orcs vs Humans ripoff. Gameplay is very standard, if a little behind the competitors of the time, Warcraft 3 came out less than 3 years after this did, for comparison. On the upside, the game does feature customisable controls and resolution, so at least some of the basic, minimum requirements have been met. Unfortunately there's a number of other technical defects and shortcomings which contribute to the game being difficult to recommend to gamers. The game only displays in 4:3 pillarboxed aspect ratio, due to the age of the game, it predates the 16:9 widescreen gaming standard established back in 2006. It's possible they're marketing t…

❌ The game is unplayable, the optimization is absolutely terrible and it's impossible to take screenshots.

ya cuando lo jugué en el 1999 ( amd k6-2 500), ya me pareció muy mediocre, eso de que pagabas gigantes, iban en pareja y cuando pegaba uno, mataba al otro y al enemigo, era todo muy absurdo, manejabas grupoos en vez de unidades, y atacabas grupos tambien, era muy complicado avanzar o salir, ejecutaban hechizos ellos solos, la IA del juego era absurdamente MALA, y eso tambien cuenta para tus aliados. Lo recuerdo con cariño por las ilustraciones, pero sinceramente a pesar de tener un buen lore, no es original , pero si tiene buena historia , es infumable jugarlo ni siquiera en GOG o steam con los updates y parches, mejor bajaros los tomos de los libros y leerlo, será mucho mejor.

first off, this game is clunky and buggy and feels unfinished, the pathfinding might just be the worst ive ever encountered in a game. that being said, the developers were clearly very ambitious with this game and it shows how much love and care they put into creating it. because of this the game has a lot of charm and a great atmosphere.

Black Moon Chronicles, developed by Cryo Interactive and published by Microids, is a late-1990s strategy title rooted in dark fantasy and adapted from the French comic series Chroniques de la Lune Noire. Released during a period when hybrid strategy games were experimenting with blending grand campaign systems and real-time tactical combat, it attempts to deliver both narrative depth and large-scale warfare within a single cohesive framework. Now available digitally on Steam, the game stands as both a relic of its era and an ambitious attempt to merge storytelling with strategic complexity. The player assumes the role of Wismerhill, a half-elf mercenary whose journey unfolds against the backdrop of a fractured medieval world dominated by rival factions. Early in the campaign, Wismerhill is little more than a capable soldier with aspirations of influence, but as events progress, he becomes entangled in political intrigue and escalating war among four major powers: the Empire, the Forces of Justice, the Black Moon, and the Light. Each faction represents distinct ideological and strategic philosophies, and the player’s alignment shapes not only the unfolding narrative but also the ty…

Although janky, the game feels more like a diablo which is a way more fun RTS genre. Looks like you can control more character, although first few levels you only have one character which felt a little weird. Also steam doesn't actually record any playtime when in game. The voicelines piss my off though.