How to play Assassin’s Creed Shadows on Mac

Game Overview

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is an immersive exploration of 16th century Japan, offering players a visually stunning open world filled with historical depth and beauty. Players take on the roles of Naoe, a nimble ninja, and Yasuke, a formidable samurai, navigating a landscape rich with cultural landmarks and intricate designs. The game excels in its atmospheric representation, with dynamic weather and seasonal changes providing a vivid backdrop to your adventures. Despite its captivating world, the main storyline weaves a predictable revenge tale, which is somewhat overshadowed by the game’s detailed environments and side quests. The combat system offers a mix of stealth and action, allowing players to switch between the agile acrobatics of Naoe and the brute strength of Yasuke, with each character possessing unique skills and weapons. Special moves and the ability to execute stylish assassinations add layers of excitement to encounters, even if the combat sometimes feels clunky in confined spaces. Players are encouraged to explore, with side activities like tea ceremonies and shrine visits providing delightful diversions from the main plot. The hideout-building feature adds a layer of customization, letting players create a personal sanctuary adorned with collectibles and pets. Its soundtrack, drawing inspiration from both traditional Japanese music and modern cinematic scores, enhances the overall experience, making every moment feel epic. While some may find the level gating and skill tree increments tedious, others will relish the opportunity to delve into the game’s extensive content. For Mac users, Assassin’s Creed Shadows runs smoothly on compatible systems, offering the same breathtaking visuals and expansive gameplay, making it a must-experience for fans of the series and newcomers alike. However, if native Mac version is not supported or runs poorly on your machine, you can try following guide to enjoy the game.

1. Play Assassin’s Creed Shadows on cloud gaming services (Boosteroid and GeForce Now)

Cloud gaming platforms stream games from remote servers, offering high performance without demanding hardware. Cloud gaming services are expanding the accessibility of gaming by eliminating many of the traditional barriers, such as the need for constant hardware upgrades and the initial cost of games. As internet speeds increase and technology advances, cloud gaming continues to grow as a popular alternative to traditional console and PC gaming.

Boosteroid

Boosteroid is a cloud gaming platform that allows users to play video games directly from the cloud on various devices, including PCs, smartphones, and smart TVs. This service provides access to a wide range of games without the need for powerful hardware. With Boosteroid, gamers can stream their favorite games over the internet, bypassing the need for downloading or updating games locally. The platform operates on a subscription model, offering different tiers to accommodate various user needs and preferences. Boosteroid is known for its ease of use, enabling seamless gaming experiences across different operating systems and devices, promoting greater accessibility and convenience for gamers worldwide.

1. Visit Boosteroid, sign up, and subscribe.
2. Search for the Assassin’s Creed Shadows game and play directly in your web browser.

Note: Boosteroid streams games seamlessly, making it accessible on most internet-connected devices.

GeForce Now

GeForce Now is a cloud gaming service developed by NVIDIA that allows users to stream video games to their devices, leveraging NVIDIA’s powerful cloud-based GPU servers. This service enables gamers to play their own games from popular digital libraries such as Steam, Epic Games Store, and Uplay on virtually any device, including PCs, Macs, Shield TVs, and mobile devices. GeForce Now differentiates itself by not requiring users to purchase games from a specific library, instead allowing them to play games they already own, provided those games are supported on the service. It offers various membership tiers, including a free option and a premium subscription that provides enhanced graphics with RTX technology, reduced waiting times, and extended session lengths.

1. Register for a GeForce Now account on their website. Choose between free or premium plans.
2. Install the GeForce Now app on your chosen device (PC, Mac, or mobile).
3. Use the search feature in the app to locate Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
4. Click Play on Assassin’s Creed Shadows within the app to begin streaming the game.

2. Use Boot Camp (for Intel-based Macs only)

Note: Boot Camp is not supported on Macs with M1/M2/M3 chips.

Boot Camp is a utility software included with macOS that allows users to install and run Windows on Macintosh computers in a dual-boot configuration. By partitioning the computer’s hard drive, Boot Camp enables a Mac to boot either into macOS or Windows, providing full system performance for Windows as it runs natively on the hardware. This solution is ideal for Mac users who need to run Windows applications that do not have macOS versions or who require the performance benefits of running certain programs directly on the hardware without virtualization overhead. Boot Camp simplifies the installation process, guiding users through the setup with step-by-step instructions and making it straightforward to switch between operating systems.

1. Get the Windows 10 ISO file (Windows 11 ISO file) from the Microsoft website. Choose the version that matches your license.
2. Find Boot Camp in the Utilities folder within your Applications. Open it to start the setup.
3. Use Boot Camp Assistant to allocate space on your hard drive for Windows. Follow the on-screen instructions to adjust the partition size.
4. Follow the prompts in Boot Camp Assistant to begin the Windows installation. Your Mac will reboot into the Windows setup.
5. During the Windows installation, choose the BOOTCAMP partition and format it.
6. Complete the installation by following the Windows setup instructions.
7. To switch between macOS and Windows, restart your Mac and hold the Option key to select the operating system you want to use.
8. Once Windows is installed, set up Assassin’s Creed Shadows like on any PC.

Why users cannot run Assassin’s Creed Shadows on Mac via Crossover or Parallels?

Assassin’s Creed Shadows, like many modern games, has implemented robust anti-cheat systems to maintain a fair and secure gaming environment. These systems are designed to detect and prevent unauthorized modifications or exploits that could give players an unfair advantage. Unfortunately for Mac users, this means that running the game through compatibility layers like Crossover or Parallels becomes problematic. These software solutions attempt to emulate a Windows environment on macOS, but they often struggle with the intricate processes of anti-cheat systems, which are finely tuned to operate within native Windows settings. As a result, the anti-cheat software may falsely interpret these emulated environments as suspicious or potentially harmful, thereby preventing the game from launching or functioning correctly. This creates a significant barrier for Mac gamers who prefer or need to use such virtualization tools to access Windows-exclusive titles. Until developers and anti-cheat providers find a way to accommodate these platforms, Mac users may find it challenging to enjoy Assassin’s Creed Shadows without a dedicated Windows machine.