asunderbulkierm Reviews

Runs great by default using Steam and the mandatory R☆ launcher. After some testing I opted for 1692p with TAA without upscaling, since it looks (arguably) better than DLSS Quality having the same performance range (slightly under 16ms budget for both CPU and GPU frame intervals).

Turning off DLSS might even have helped shaving off 1ms from the CPU time since even upscaling can require some CPU usage, especially translated by software (MetalFX is great but can't match perfectly with all DLSS hardware instructions)

On a Max chip the game is more likely to be CPU limited anyway before maxing GPU, due to its complex simulation systems, so I just went with the higher resolution. The M5 Max 20/40 variant would probably have a better chance to get closer to 4K60 with some consistency.

For most graphics options I basically used the optimized settings tested by Hardware Unboxed. Most things at High while lowering CPU bound extra advanced settings like Geometry Scaling, Water Physics, etc.

Great performance, using DLSS Quality and it's good, HDR is serviceable but is not great even on PC. Current Crossover Preview 20260616 fixes R☆ Launcher, which runs along Steam.

On macOS Tahoe Windows Steam version runs fine, DXMT is more performant than D3DMetal and DXVK. Much better than the native port which uses outdated OpenGL and has terrible antialiasing.

There's a known PC issue in which frame rates above 105 fps can create sound or physics glitches so cap FPS at 100, 60 or whatever is your preferred refresh rate below that value (ideally your display should also support a multiple of it for better frame pacing).

Just be mindful that D3DMetal or DXMT can get particularly wonky about display mode in this game, each will only boot sometimes with either Fullscreen of Borderless.

For limiting FPS when using DXMT open cxbottle.conf in your bottle root folder and add to [EnvironmentVariables]:
"DXMT_CONFIG" = "d3d11.preferredMaxFrameRate=60"

For limiting FPS when using D3DMetal (and GPTK4) open cxbottle.conf in your bottle root folder and add to [EnvironmentVariables]: "D3DM_MAX_FPS" = "60"

Recommended mods: Alias Isolation (TAA), remove item glow, skip save confirmation, upscaled 4k movies, PS5 controller buttons.

Game runs OKish on D3DMetal, considering it uses UE5, without perceivable glitches in the first area tested. Some graphic glitches on DXMT and crashes with DXVK.

Good overall performance, can squeeze 4k with DLSS Quality (which attempts to translate to MetalFX) with input resolution of 1440p. Except for some more open-world (ish) maps, like The Twelve Towers, where it can drop to the 40s and 50s.

Most bodies of water, like rivers and lakes have smearing issues related to how the game implemented either TAA and/or Sharpening. This also happens with upscaling enabled. Force disabling those via mods and disabling upscaling in-game solves the issue, but at the cost of too much sub pixel shimmering and worst performance. The smearing is exacerbated by the translation stack, probably something to do with how Wine/D3DMetal deals with temporal motion vectors.

If you're having problems with audio crackling, try setting your output in your Mac's Audio Midi Setup to 44.100 HZ and/or setting in-game Audio Compatibility Latency to High.

Most of these Naughty Dog PC ports have memory leaks that are more evident when translating via Wine/GPTK. RAM usage will increase indefinitely until it starts going into swap and becomes a stuttering mess, making you having to restart the game.

The good news is that with GPTK4 it seems the memory leak is not a big problem anymore, I see RAM sitting between 19 to 24 GB, still higher usage but it does not increase indefinitely.
I recommend having at least 24GB of RAM for this one.

It runs great via VMware Fusion, better than Crossover (probably due to being originally a 32-bit binary translated to 64-bit). Limit refresh rate to 60Hz and enable V-sync to avoid physics issues.

For other optimizations, fixes and enhancements to this game check its pcgamingwiki page.

I personally recommend the auto-fire mod on Nexus, because by default in this game you have to press the trigger for each pistol shot, and you have to shoot a loooot in this game, especially with some bullet spongey enemies.

Crashes at startup with any settings.

Runs ok, but since it's an OpenGL game performance is not what it should be. Resolution matters less, you can increase in-game resolution to 4K and have similar performance since it becomes CPU bound due to the lack of proper OpenGL/CL drivers (thanks Apple).

I noticed that macOS screen compositor can get finicky when connected to an external 4k display and running non-Metal applications. So to avoid performance loss in this scenario, set your external display with macOS resolution to 1080p (low) to have less buffer overhead than native 4k or 1080p default (still 4k). It makes a difference in performance. Just increase resolution in-game, it'll look better and have better performance.

Game runs fine for the most part, but in all methods there are perfomance drops when multiple particles and other effects are on screen. D3DMetal is the most stable.
The muted dialog audio is due to the game forcing/expecting a 5.1 audio device, when most people will be using stereo.
There is a way to fix the dialog, but it envolves using apps like Blackhole (great, free) and Loopback (best, paid, but there must be other options).
Create a 16ch virtual device with Blackhole. In Audio Midi Setup configure the speakers to 5.1 (screenshot). Set the virtual device as a source device in Loopback and associate it to 2.0 channels. Set your real output device as audio monitor (screenshot).
In your Crossover Bottle, go to Wine Configuration and set your audio output to the Blackhole device you created.
Launch the game and dialog should be heard as normal.

On macOS Tahoe Steam version runs fine, DXMT is more performant than D3DMetal and DXVK.
Frame rate above 105 fps can create sound glitches so cap at 60 or your preferred refresh rate.

Just be mindful that D3DMetal or DXMT can get particularly wonky about display mode in this game, each will only boot sometimes with either Fullscreen of Borderless.

For DXMT open cxbottle.conf in your bottle root folder and add to [EnvironmentVariables]:
"DXMT_CONFIG" = "d3d11.preferredMaxFrameRate=60"

Recommended mods: Alias Isolation (TAA), remove item glow, skip save confirmation, upscaled 4k movies, PS5 controller buttons.

The FPS limit can be set in the Config. ini file by going to the game folder, right-clicking the app and showing package content.

Metal HUD can make the test window freeze during loading, so disable it before opening the application.

Steam version used to crash at start, despite having no anti-tamper software. Cracked version worked with good performance using DXVK, which has better performance than D3DMetal and DXMT, just having a bit more initial shader compilation stutter, but it soon gets stable.

Newer versions of Crossover improved this, so Steam version works now. by default. Just be mindful that D3DMetal or DXMT are particular about display mode in this game, each will only boot sometimes with either Fullscreen of Borderless.

It's possible to inject TAA (Alias Isolation mod) to immensely improve image quality, as well as other mods, just put the mod files in the main game directory and add the .dll name in Wine Configuration > Libraries (native, builtin) inside your bottle. Controller works but I had to disable Hidraw in Crossover

Runs reasonably well considering the hardware, while at the same time providing a lot of customization for the user. I personally play at 1200p at around 40fps (v-sync locked), which can be lower in some scenes, with a blend of medium and high settings, MetalFX Quality and no RT of course. SSR and AO can be some of the most demanding settings beside RT, so keep them at low or medium.

It runs great via VMware Fusion, better than Crossover (probably due to being originally a 32-bit binary translated to 64-bit). Limit refresh rate to 60Hz and enable V-sync to avoid physics issues. For other optimizations check the pcgamingwiki page.

It's playable on M1 Pro but with uneven framerate (probably due to being originally a 32-bit binary translated to 64-bit) via D3DMetal or DXMT, crashes with DXVK. It runs much better and stable via VMware Fusion.

It runs great via VMware Fusion, better than Crossover (probably due to being originally a 32-bit binary translated to 64-bit). Limit refresh rate to 60Hz and enable V-sync to avoid physics issues. For other optimizations check the pcgamingwiki page.

It runs OK via D3DMetal and DXMT, crashes on DXVK. Playable but performance is uneven all around (probably due to being originally a 32-bit binary translated to 64-bit), it's much smoother via VMware Fusion.

It runs great via VMware Fusion, better than Crossover (probably due to being originally a 32-bit binary translated to 64-bit). Limit refresh rate to 60Hz and enable V-sync to avoid physics issues. For other optimizations check the pcgamingwiki page.

Steam version used to crash at start (fixed in newer versions of Crossover), despite having no anti-tamper software. Cracked version works with good performance using DXVK, which has better performance than D3DMetal and DXMT, just having a bit more initial shader compilation stutter, but it soon gets stable.

It's possible to inject TAA (Alias Isolation mod) to immensely improve image quality, as well as other mods, just put the mod files in the main game directory and add the .dll name in Wine Configuration > Libraries (native, builtin) inside your bottle. Controller works but I had to disable Hidraw in Crossover

Good, with vanilla Crossover it would crash at start, could only run with CXPatcher, and did without any perceivable graphical glitches and with reasonable performance most of the time with controller and k/m support. If using external displays, these need to be set as main Display, otherwise the game may crash for some reason. Turned on D3DMetal, MSync and High Resolution Mode.
I have not tested with latest versions of Crossover.

No MetalFX, could probably increase resolution a bit but this is a good balance for performance / image quality. Runs smooth on most M-Series and has HDR.

Good, vanilla Crossover 24.0.3 would crash at start or after first cutscene, could only run with CXPatcher and did it without any perceivable graphical glitches and with reasonable performance most of the time, supports controller and k/m. Turned on D3DMetal, MSync. When exiting a fullscreen playthrough, it can stay at black screen, so play with Borderless Fullscreen or CMD+option+ESC to force quit if the game freezes.
Have not tested with latest versions of Crossover.

Good, vanilla Crossover 24.0.3 would crash at start or after first cutscene, could only run with CXPatcher and did it without any perceivable graphical glitches and with reasonable performance most of the time, supports controller and k/m. Turned on D3DMetal, MSync. When exiting a fullscreen playthrough, it can stay at black screen, so play with Borderless Fullscreen or CMD+option+ESC to force quit if the game freezes.
Have not tested with latest versions of Crossover.

No MetalFX, could probably increase resolution a bit but this is a good balance for performance / image quality. Runs smooth on most M-Series and has HDR.

Boots normally into the main menu but crashes when starting a new game or continuing a save game . Same occurs with VMware Fusion.

No MetalFX as I find the spacial upscaling underwhelming. UE5 is not particularly well optimized for Mac, so don't expect to enable features like Lumen and have good performance, but with some fiddling it's playable and it's a great game.

Good optimization, 1080p60 High 99% of the time without the need for MetalFX as I find the upscaling quality underwhelming, having more perceptible shimmering around finer objects like hair and foliage.

Maybe because it's a somewhat old x86 OpenGL game, it seems to demand a lot from the CPU and/or there's a lot of unoptimized code as it's translated through Rosetta 2. Can't get a stable 60 fps on M1 Pro no matter the resolution and graphics settings.

SSAO can cause performance dips, so consider disabling it. Considering the already dark environments, there's not much difference in image fidelity.

Anti-aliasing is broken, options have not much effect in image quality and it looks awfully distracting. On the PC version you can inject TAA to make it better and also experiment with quality of life/immersion tweaks via community mods.