Shenmue III follows in the footsteps of the first two games – it is still an open-world, action-adventure game about Ryo Hazuki and his quest to avenge the murder of his father. It is remarkably similar to the first two games, despite having a different developer – Ys Net – and releasing 18 years after Shenmue II. That is because the game’s creative director, Yu Suzuki, has also directed Shenmue I and II. Indeed, Shenmue III only became a reality thanks to his initiative – in 2015, he launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the game’s development. Thanks to all the advances the technology has made, Shenmue III received several substantial improvements. The game’s engine, Unreal Engine 4, made the game look beautiful and modern. The way it plays is anything but modern, though – Yu Suzuki developed the game exactly as he envisioned it all the way back in the early 00s, and it shows. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though – the game is definitely enjoyable, and people frustrated by trends in modern gaming would find it a breath of fresh air.
The game has also received three DLCs, adding new content to the game – both in terms of story missions and in terms of cosmetic items such as outfits. Shenmue III is available to play only on Windows and PlayStation 4 – unsurprisingly, it did not receive a Mac port. Despite this, it is possible to play Shenmue III on Mac – the guide below will help you with that.
Play Shenmue III on Mac with Parallels
Shenmue III requires lots of PC resources, but if you have a powerful Mac computer (iMac, iMac Pro, or Mac Pro) Parallels Desktop can be a solution. This is an application that allows for Windows virtualization on Mac with the full support of DirectX and GPUs. In simpler terms, what this means is that it allows you to install Windows 10 on Mac with just a couple of clicks and switch between MacOS and Windows instantly. So you will be able to run Windows, install Steam, and enjoy the Shenmue III game on Mac just like on a regular PC.
Note: Recommended devices to run resource-demanding games: MacBook Pro (models with an Intel processor, discrete graphics cards, and 16 GB of RAM or more), iMac (models with Intel processor, discrete graphics cards, and 16 GB of RAM or more), iMac Pro (all models are suitable), Mac Pro (all models are suitable). Parallels on Mac computers with M1 (M1 Pro, M1 Max) chips may not support recent games. Games that require DirectX 12 and later are currently not supported by Parallels. AppsOnMac recommends using Parallels’ free trial feature to determine whether you can run the game or not if you’re uncertain.
Play Shenmue III on Mac with cloud gaming services
If you have an old Mac or it cannot satisfy the Shenmue III game system requirements, there is an easy solution. Cloud gaming services will be happy to provide you with sufficient computing power – though not for free, of course. All you need is a browser or a small client program and a good internet connection starting from 15 MBit/s. There are several great platforms that provide these services, among the best are Boosteroid, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and Nvidia GeForce Now.
Play Shenmue III on Mac with BootCamp
Note: Mac computers with new Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3 Pro, or M1, M2, M3 Max) currently do not support BootCamp. In this case, please, use the options above to run Shenmue III on Mac
This method is simple but time-consuming. If your Mac meets all the system requirements above, you can play Shenmue III on Mac by installing Windows. You need to set up a dual boot of Windows and Mac via BootCamp. This is an application that allows users to choose the system to work in on startup, however, you won’t be able to switch between systems like in Parallels. You will need to reboot your machine every time you want to switch from Mac to Windows and vice versa. Remember that Mac is just a computer, in the end. And while newer Macs have their own special Apple Silicon chips that cannot run Windows, older Macs are very much similar to computers that run Windows, they have Intel processors, compatible RAM, disks, and other components. So you can install Windows on an older Mac by allocating no less than 64 GB of disk space (to be able to run Windows and a couple of games) and following these steps:
For OS X El Capitan 10.11 and older
For MacOS versions prior to OS X El Capitan 10.11 you will need to create a bootable Windows USB.
- Download this Windows ISO file.
- Open Boot Camp Assistant (Go to Applications > Utilities).
- Define the Windows partition size and choose the Windows ISO file you’ve downloaded.
- Format the Windows partition and go through all Windows installation steps.
- When Windows boots for the first time, follow on-screen instructions to install Boot Camp and Windows support software (drivers)