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 | Reported | 5 reports |
| D3DMetalApple's Game Porting Toolkit | Reported | 1 report |
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
Steam 250900 is the Rebirth base game; Repentance+ is its expansion and what the reports played. On the r5 engine and Highball 0.9.27 the same player calls it perfect over a four-hour session on DXMT (M2 Max, macOS 27); an earlier report on r5 and 0.9.27 saw the frame rate degrade over a long session, cleared by restarting the game. Frame rate not measured here. The Mac build on Steam stops at Afterbirth+, and Repentance is Windows only, so this row marks the Mac build as not the one to play (highball#223). An M4 report (engine r11) sees slight frame drops in rooms crowded with enemies, mostly in Greed mode. Another perfect report, two and a half hours on DXMT on an M4 with engine r17. Two more, almost five hours on an M1 on macOS 15 (rated 4, nothing named) and an hour and a half on an M2 on the Wine 11 engine (perfect). A short perfect report on an M1 Pro with engine r28 (3 minutes). Another perfect report, almost two and a half hours on an M1 with DXMT on engine r28.
Known issues
Slows down after a while of play (reported on DXMT, M2 Max, macOS 27, engine r5)
What helps Quit the game and start it again, the reporter says that helps a lot
Why not diagnosed; reported as lag building up over a long session
Slight frame drops in rooms with many enemies, more often in Greed mode (reported on an M4, DXMT, engine r11)
What helps None reported
Why not diagnosed
Provenance
Reported by phs1997 (highball-db#119, 2026-09-18) playing the Repentance+ expansion: rated 3, playable with workarounds, on DXMT, Apple M2 Max, macOS 27.0, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r5, Highball 0.9.27, 97 minutes played through Highball. The workaround, added in a follow-up comment: when the game starts lagging, restarting it helps a lot. A later report from the same player (highball-db#125, 2026-09-19) rates it 5, perfect, after 244 minutes on DXMT, Apple M2 Max, macOS 27.0, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r5, Highball 0.9.27, so the newer engine and app made the lag a non-issue for them. DakiTheBest (highball-db#270, 2026-10-01) rates it 5, perfect, after 7 minutes on DXMT, Apple M1 Max, macOS 26.6.2, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r11, Highball 0.9.39. iskarmous (highball-db#271, 2026-10-01) rates it 4, playable with minor issues, after 66 minutes on DXMT, Apple M4, macOS 27.0.1, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r11, Highball 0.9.39, with slight frame drops in rooms with many enemies, more often in Greed mode. Not run here. bingus123456 (highball-db#328, 2026-10-05), Apple M4, macOS 27.2 as written, Highball 0.10.2, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r17, DXMT, rated 5 of 5 after 156 minutes. 2365836149-sketch (highball-db#487, 2026-10-14), Apple M1, macOS 15.7.7, Highball 0.10.15, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r26, DXMT, rated 4 of 5 after 290 minutes, nothing named. Juicy5505 (highball-db#519, 2026-10-17), Apple M2, macOS 27.0.1, Highball 0.10.15, the Wine 11 engine x64-crossover26.3-r23, DXMT environment, Windows 11, frame cap 120, rated 5 of 5 after 91 minutes. ignatpmk (highball-db#588, 2026-10-20), Apple M4, macOS 27.0.1, Highball 0.10.21, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r28, DXMT, recipes steam and vcrun2022, Repentance+, rated 5 of 5 after 50 minutes. JoWood94 (highball-db#608, 2026-10-21), Apple M1 Pro, macOS 27.0.1, Highball 0.10.22, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r28, DXMT environment, msync, rated 5 of 5 after 3 minutes. UncleJefff (highball-db#949, 2026-11-03), Apple M1, macOS 27.2, Highball 0.10.23, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r28, DXMT, rated 5 of 5 after 143 minutes. DakiTheBest (highball-db#1000, 2026-11-05), Apple M1 Max, macOS 27.0.1, Highball 0.10.23, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r28, DXMT, rated 4 of 5 after 195 minutes: minor frame drops in certain rooms, otherwise smooth.
Before installing anything, it is worth checking whether the game already ships a native Mac build.
Common questions
Does The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth (Repentance+) work on Mac?
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth (Repentance+) 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.
Which renderer should I use for The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth (Repentance+)?
DXMT. Highball can translate Direct3D through DXVK, DXMT or Apple's D3DMetal, and the right choice varies by game. The database records DXMT for The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth (Repentance+). Highball uses it automatically when the game has a row; to set it by hand, open Settings, then Environments.
Contribute a result
This page is generated from an open database. If you have run The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth (Repentance+) 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.