Highball
Which renderer to use
Highball can run each game through three different Direct3D translation layers. This is what the database knows for this title — empty rows are open questions, not failures.
| Renderer | Verdict | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| DXVKDirect3D 9-11 over Vulkan | Untested | no report yet — send one |
| DXMTDirect3D 11 over Metal | Untested | no report yet — send one |
| D3DMetalApple's Game Porting Toolkit | Untested | no report yet — send one |
No dated Highball run yet. When one lands it records the renderer, the engine build and the macOS version it was seen on — which is what stops a verdict quietly rotting. Send one.
Notes
Playable in one report on an M1 with WineD3D at 800x600, after a reinstall. A higher resolution chosen in the game doesn't stick, and no controller is read. It's a 32-bit game from 2005.
Known issues
Clicking the title menu zooms the picture in about four times, so the menu no longer fits on the screen and the game can't be played. On D3DMetal and DXMT it is zoomed from the start, on WineD3D only after the click (M1, Wine 10 r29)
What helps none known. It didn't come back after the reporter reinstalled the game (highball-db#964, 2026-11-05)
Why not diagnosed. It looks like the display mode switch on click that Alice: Madness Returns has (highball-db#429), but Emulate display mode changes, which fixed that one, didn't help here
Stays at 800x600, a higher resolution chosen in the game doesn't stick (M1, WineD3D, Wine 10 r29)
What helps untested. Pick a resolution the Mac's display has
Why Wine refuses the display mode the game asks for (DISP_CHANGE_BADMODE in the log), most likely because the Mac's display doesn't offer it. 1600x1200, the one tried, is taller than the reporter's 1920x1080 screen
No controller is read, XInput or DirectInput, with or without Steam Input
What helps mouse and keyboard
Why not diagnosed
Provenance
Reported by udance4ever (highball-db#964, 2026-11-03), Apple M1, macOS 27.2, Highball 0.10.25, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r29, WineD3D by the report (the environment's mode is D3DMetal), rated 2 of 5 after 1 minute: on D3DMetal and DXMT the picture is zoomed in from the start. On WineD3D the opening screens fit (the screenshot shows them at about 800x600 in the top left corner of the screen), but once the title menu is clicked the picture zooms in about four times, the menu no longer fits on the screen and the game can't be played. Emulate display mode changes didn't help. Not verified by the maintainer. udance4ever again in a comment on highball-db#964 (2026-11-05): after reinstalling the game the zoom didn't come back and the game got in game on WineD3D. Clicking the small window took it full screen. It stays at 800x600: picking 1600x1200 in the game doesn't stick, and the log has Wine refusing the game's display mode changes six times (NtUserChangeDisplaySettings returned -2, DISP_CHANGE_BADMODE). No controller worked, XInput or DirectInput, with or without Steam Input. The game was on an external drive. udance4ever again in a comment on highball-db#964 (2026-11-06): no resolution change sticks, 1920x1080 included. The reporter now plays the Xbox 360 version through the XeniOS 2.2 emulator and closed the report.
Before installing anything, it is worth checking whether the game already ships a native Mac build.
Common questions
Does F.E.A.R. work on Mac?
F.E.A.R. has no native Mac build, but it is reported to run on Apple Silicon through Highball, a free open-source compatibility layer. This comes from community reports rather than a Highball test run, so treat it as a reasonable expectation rather than a guarantee.
Contribute a result
This page is generated from an open database. If you have run F.E.A.R. on Apple Silicon, working or not, a report takes a minute and fills in the empty rows above. Send a report, or read how the data is put together.