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 | 1 report |
last confirmed 2026-09-19 · engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r28 · macOS 27.0.1. Dated runs record the engine build and, where the reporter gave it, the macOS version.
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 An earlier blind reading that r6 drew where r5 was black was the demo's first run, before the video starts, and is withdrawn. On a base M3 with 8 GB a player sees severe stutter when turning the camera, which is a lot of Unreal 5 for that much memory. The full game is reported perfect on an M2 over 188 minutes with D3DMetal and the recipe on the default engine (r28) (highball-db#1023).
Known issues
Starts, then crashes before the main menu (reported on an M3 Ultra, Highball 0.9.23)
What helps On the game's page, Advanced, set the mode to D3DMetal. The next release does this on its own for Unreal 5 games
Why most likely the environment's DXMT mode, which has no Direct3D 12; the game is Direct3D 12 only
'Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable (x64) is required' dialog at launch
What helps Environment settings, Windows components, install the Visual C++ runtimes, then Play again
Why Unreal's prerequisite check; the runtime was not in the environment
Steam's own window goes blank after the game's mode is set to D3DMetal (reported on 0.9.23)
What helps 0.9.26 (beta) routes 32-bit Direct3D 11 to DXMT on D3DMetal, so Steam keeps drawing; on 0.9.23 stop the environment and Play again
Why on 0.9.23 the Steam client starts with the game's mode, and D3DMetal has no 32-bit Direct3D 11 for Steam's browser, so it drew nothing
Black window at idle GPU once the game reaches its menu (the demo's second run onward, the first shows the title before the video starts)
What helps The the-last-caretaker recipe disables mfplat for the game's executable only; the menu comes up without its background video and the game plays (r5 and r6, by eye)
Why measured 2026-09-19: the menu's 4K video goes through Windows Media Foundation and reaches D3DMetal as a texture with no Metal format; Metal's descriptor validation fails (invalid pixelFormat 0), that thread dies and the main thread waits on it forever (RtlpWaitForCriticalSection timeouts in the log)
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. The demo reported by matthosubyt-hue (highball-db#472, 2026-10-13), Apple M3 with 8 GB, macOS 26.5.1, Highball 0.10.15, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r26, the environment on WineD3D with a 30 fps cap, rated 3 of 5 after 20 minutes, severe stutter when the camera moves. Miandresen (highball-db#1023, 2026-11-06), Apple M2, macOS 27.0.1, Highball 0.10.23, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r28, D3DMetal, rated 5 of 5 after 188 minutes: the full game, with the game's recipe.
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.