Parallels
Full Windows 11 ARM inside macOS.
Difficulty: EasyCost: $39.99 (Treasure Trove)Estimate
Parallels
How to play Shovel Knight on Mac
Platformer · 2014
Best in a Windows 11 ARM virtual machine via Parallels.
Overall rating: Not enough votes yet
Your setup
Detect your Mac to see whether Shovel Knight will run.
Best in a Windows 11 ARM virtual machine via Parallels.
How to run Shovel Knight on your Mac in 2026
Best path: Parallels
Should run in a Windows 11 ARM virtual machine (Parallels). This is an estimate — not a verified report. Demanding 3D titles may need lower settings.
- Heads up on Parallels: Estimated compatibility — no verified report yet
Shovel Knight
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove is the complete Shovel Knight collection, containing all 5 games in the epic saga! Dig, blast, slash, and bash your way through a fantastical, 8-bit inspired world of pixel-perfect platforming, memorable characters, and world-class action-adventure gameplay.
Shovel Knight runs perfectly on Apple Silicon via the native macOS build using Rosetta 2 translation, offering a flawless 60 FPS experience with minimal battery drain.
What the world thinks
Performance
How Shovel Knight runs on your Mac, from our performance model and player reports.
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Best way to play it on Mac
Shovel Knight runs perfectly on Apple Silicon via the native macOS build using Rosetta 2 translation, offering a flawless 60 FPS experience with minimal battery drain.
See if this is the right method for your setup
Ways to play Shovel Knight on Mac
Here are all the options available, ranked by what we recommend first.
Compare methods at a glance
Lower = betterHow each supported method stacks up on setup effort, time and runtime overhead.
Method
Setup Difficulty
Time Investment
Performance Overhead
- ParallelsVMTop pickSetupModerateTime30 minOverheadHigh
Where to buy Shovel Knight
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How to run Shovel Knight on Mac with Parallels
Estimate· CompatibilityUsing Parallels to play Shovel Knight means running a full copy of Windows 11 ARM inside macOS. This is the most "it just works" approach for games that don't behave under CrossOver, and DirectX 11 is hardware-accelerated. You'll need a Windows license and roughly 80 GB of disk space.
Step-by-step
- Buy / start a trial of Parallels Desktop.
- Install Windows 11 ARM via the one-click wizard.
- Inside Windows, install Steam / Xbox app and Shovel Knight.
- Enable DirectX 11 in Parallels settings for best 3D performance.
Video proof
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Our recommendation
For most Mac players we recommend Parallels as the fastest, smoothest way to play Shovel Knight. Full Windows 11 ARM inside macOS.
| Method | Quality | Difficulty | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| ParallelsPick | Good | Medium | $99/year + Windows licence |
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