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 | Reported | community reports |
Last confirmed 2026-09-19. That run predates per-report engine and macOS logging, so those are not recorded for it. A newer report would carry both.
Notes
Unreal Engine 5, Direct3D 12 only. Use D3DMetal: the demo starts, shows its title and main menu at 84 to 110 fps windowed at 1280x720 on an M1 Pro (Metal HUD), with the Visual C++ 2015-2022 runtime installed in the environment first, which the game's own prerequisite check demands. On DXMT or DXVK (no Direct3D 12) it cannot reach the menu, which is the most likely cause of the reported crash. From 0.9.26 Play picks D3DMetal for Unreal 5 builds on its own. Gameplay past the menu is not measured here yet. The black screen turned out to be the menu's video, not the renderer: with the recipe's per-executable mfplat override the menu renders on r5 and on r6 alike (2026-09-19, by eye). An earlier blind reading that r6 drew where r5 was black was the demo's first run, before the video starts, and is withdrawn.
One-click setup
Highball ships a recipe for The Last Caretaker: open the game in your Library and apply it. The recipe carries the tested renderer and any per-game fixes, so you don't have to reproduce them by hand. Read the recipe.
Provenance
Reported crashing before the main menu by Metal-Gear-Solid (highball#138, 2026-09-17), Apple M3 Ultra, Highball 0.9.23, mode not stated. The maintainer ran the free demo (Steam 3916150) on 2026-09-17 on an M1 Pro, macOS 26.6.2, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r3, D3DMetal: it reaches the main menu; gameplay was not exercised. The reporter (M3 Ultra) then reached the game on D3DMetal at over 60 fps at 4K on the Epic preset on 0.9.23, keyboard not responding that time, and later launches failed again with the Steam window going blank.
Before installing anything, it is worth checking whether the game already ships a native Mac build.
Common questions
Does The Last Caretaker work on Mac?
The Last Caretaker 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 Last Caretaker?
D3DMetal. Highball can translate Direct3D through DXVK, DXMT or Apple's D3DMetal, and the right choice varies by game. The database records D3DMetal for The Last Caretaker, and applying the The Last Caretaker recipe sets it for you.
Is there a one-click setup for The Last Caretaker?
Yes. Highball ships a recipe for The Last Caretaker that sets the tested renderer and any per-game fixes. Open the game in your Library and apply it.
Contribute a result
This page is generated from an open database. If you have run The Last Caretaker 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.