Resident Evil 4 Now on Mac: M1 Native support & Benchmarks

One of the best-looking games of 2023 was just released on Mac. Resident Evil 4 on macOS is particularly surprising because it completely flew under everyone’s radar. In spite of making a big deal out of the upcoming iOS version of the game, CAPCOM barely mentioned that RE4 was also headed to macOS. No press release, no video. Just a sentence buried on their website.

Clearly, Apple wanted all the spotlight on the iPhone, but what matters is that Resident Evil 4 was released on December 20, 2023, and now that it’s here, we’ll tell you how it runs on macOS. Did CAPCOM manage to pull another Resident Evil Village miracle?

Art	Genre	64-bit	API	M1 Support	Performance	Optimizations
	Adventure		Metal	Native	Poor	None
	Racing		Metal	Native	Excellent	MetalFX
	Action		Metal	Native	Good	MetalFX
	Action		Metal	Native	Excellent	MetalFX
	Adventure		Metal	Native	Good	MetalFX
	Simulation		Metal	Native	Good	None
	Simulation		OpenGL	Rosetta	Good	None
	RPG		Vulkan	Rosetta	Good	None

Can you play Resident Evil 4 Remake on Mac?

You can absolutely play Resident Evil 4 on your Mac, provided you have an Apple Silicon Mac (M1, M2 or M3). Indeed, RE4 features native M1 support, which means better performance for ARM-based Macs but no support for legacy Intel-based Macs.

And as a (major) added bonus, this is a universal app that also runs on iPhone and iPad! 

A Game of the Year Contender Now on Mac

If you’re unfamiliar with the game, this is a remake of the Nintendo GameCube cult classic from 2005. That game put Resident Evil back on the map and delivered some of the best gameplay the franchise had ever seen. It was also the moment when CAPCOM made the excellent choice to make Resident Evil more action-oriented.

When the game’s remake was released earlier this year, it was met with critical acclaim. Many call this the best remake ever seen in modern gaming, and from what I’ve seen, it is arguably the best Resident Evil released to date.

Resident Evil 4 Mac System Requirements

These are the game’s minimum requirements, as confirmed by CAPCOM:

• macOS 13.0.0 / macOS 14.2

Compatible Devices:

• MacBook Pro:
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, M2, 2022)
  • MacBook Pro (16-inch, M1 Pro, 2021) / MacBook Pro (16-inch, M1 Max, 2021)
  • MacBook Pro (14-inch, M1 Pro, 2021) / MacBook Pro (14-inch, M1 Max, 2021)
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, M1, 2020)
  • MacBook Pro (16-inch, M2 Pro, 2023) / MacBook Pro (16-inch, M2 Max, 2023)
  • MacBook Pro (14-inch, M2 Pro, 2023) / MacBook Pro (14-inch, M2 Max, 2023)
• MacBook Air:
  • MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
  • MacBook Air (13-inch,M2, 2023)
  • MacBook Air (15-inch,M2, 2023)
• iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021)
• Mac mini:
  • Mac mini (M1, 2020)
  • Mac mini (M2, 2023)/Mac mini (M2 Pro, 2023)
• Mac Studio:
  • Mac Studio（M1 Max, 2022）/ Mac Studio（M1 Ultra, 2022）
  • Mac Studio（M2 Max, 2023）/ Mac Studio（M2 Ultra, 2023）
• Mac Pro（M2 Ultra, 2023）

Can Your Mac Run Resident Evil 4? Benchmarks & Performance

These are the Mac benchmarks we have gathered so far:

Resident Evil Village was a perfect example of what Apple Silicon Macs can do, especially when games are properly optimized. And we are happy to see CAPCOM follow through with RE4. RE4 features all of the latest Metal 3 goodies you can expect from a AAA Mac port, including MetalFX Upscaling. This allows even the least powerful M1 Mac, the 2020 M1 MacBook Air, to run the game at decent frame rates and quality settings. More on that later.

Resident Evil 4 on macOS is another excellent port that runs great, showing good frame rates, good graphics, no significant glitches or bugs, and proper use of MetalFX.

As always, we tested the game on two machines using different combinations of resolutions (1920×1080 and 2560×1440), Graphics, and MetalFX settings to see how both Macs performed under different conditions.

On the M1 Pro MacBook Pro, we tested the game on two different resolutions, 1920×1080 and 2560×1440, always using the Prioritize Graphics and Quality MetalFX presets. On 1080p, the game ran at a smooth 50 to 60 FPS on average. We tend to record the lowest averages, in this case 52 FPS, but the game usually ran at much higher frame rates. Even during the most intense sequences, with up to 10 enemies on screen, the framerate remained fluid at around 45 to 50 FPS. 

To test the M1 Pro processor further, we upped the resolution to 1440p, and the frame rates dropped to 40 to 45 FPS. Given the pace of the game, that was more than acceptable because, again, frames rarely dropped below 40 FPS. But what about the base M1 MacBook Air? Does it have what it takes to run RE4?

Resident Evil 4 macOS settings (1080p, Graphics, Balanced Graphics; Performance MetalFX)

Resident Evil 4 on MacBook: Can it run on a base M1 MacBook Air?

We already spoiled this section by confirming that even the cheapest, weakest M1 machine can run Resident Evil 4 at more than acceptable frame rates. Using a 1080p resolution, Balanced graphics, and Performance MetalFX presets, the game runs at an average of 46 FPS. During intense fights, frames would drop to around 35 FPS, but considering that many games run at 30 FPS on consoles, we can consider it mission accomplished for the MacBook Air.

Switching to the MetalFX Quality setting will produce roughly 10 FPS less on average. In our tests, using the same resolution and graphics but moving to Quality MetalFX instead of Performance MetalFX resulted in 36 FPS on average. This led to sub-30 FPS during action-packed sequences, which is not ideal. We definitely recommend either sticking to Performance MetalFX or lowering either the resolution or Graphics Preset. 

Resident Evil 4 on M1 MacBook Air (1080p + Balanced Graphics, Performance MetalFX)

Resident Evil 4 Mac Download

You can download Resident Evil 4 for Mac on the App Store. We usually complain when a Mac port is not made available on Steam, but in this case, the App Store version is meaty. It includes a  free demo and full versions for iPhone and iPad, in case you want to take RE4 on the road. 

Resident Evil 4 Mac Free Trial

Before you go…

Looking for other recent macOS blockbusters? Don’t miss either Resident Evil Village or No Man’s Sky, both also available on Mac.