STALKER 2 has hit the gaming scene with an impressive milestone, selling a million copies right off the bat. However, even with its popularity, the game demands significant power from any system, challenging even the top-tier gaming setups. One can’t help but wonder: how does Apple’s latest M4 Max, designed for MacBook Pro, stand up to such an intensive game built on Unreal Engine 5?
When put to the test, Apple’s M4 Max performed decently given the circumstances, but from a value standpoint, it falls short — particularly with its hefty price tag.
Denis Gladkikh showcased on YouTube how STALKER 2 runs on Apple Silicon using the CrossOver application, paired with GPT2 files, enabling the game to launch on the M4 Max. It’s worth noting that the game isn’t natively supported on this platform, so emulation comes into play, which can impact performance. It’s quite a feat that a portable computer’s chip can even run such a demanding game — but expect to make some visual compromises. Notably, Gladkikh pointed out that shader compilation on the M4 Max took between 5 and 10 minutes, a relatively brisk process.
The gameplay footage shows STALKER 2 operating on a MacBook Pro with the M4 Max at ‘Medium’ settings and a resolution of 1,600 x 900. Disappointingly, Apple’s most advanced chip struggles to hit 30-40 FPS at native 1080p. Particularly frustrating when you consider the base version of the MacBook Pro with this chip costs a staggering $3,199. While the video doesn’t explicitly show if the game was optimized with AMD’s upscaling technology, the performance graphs reveal no upscaling was involved, running purely at native resolution.
It’s tantalizing to think how a native application might improve the performance on an M4 Max, but for now, if you’re stuck using a MacBook Pro for gaming, this is about as good as it gets.
Good news on the horizon, though: STALKER 2’s developers, GSC Game World, promise several upcoming patches aimed at ironing out bugs and enhancing performance. Let’s hope these updates deliver a better experience.
For those intrigued by STALKER 2, it offers more than just a typical first-person shooter experience; it’s deep and demanding, and promises a unique level of engagement. Keep an eye out for ongoing reviews that delve deeper into this intense gaming world.
