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Parallels

How to play Strange Brigade on Mac

Action / Adventure · 2018

Best in a Windows 11 ARM virtual machine via Parallels.

Overall rating: Runs great on Mac · 100% of 1 players say it runs well

Your setup
Detect your Mac to see whether Strange Brigade will run.

Best in a Windows 11 ARM virtual machine via Parallels.

How to run Strange Brigade 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
MethodQualityDifficultyCost
ParallelsPickGoodMedium$99/yrGet it ↗
CrossOverEstimateMedium$74 / $39/yrGet it ↗
BoosteroidEstimateEasy$9.95 /moGet it ↗
Get Parallels Try CrossOver Buy on AllKeyShop See all methods & install guide ↓

Strange Brigade

68
Metacritic

Embark on an exotic journey into danger in this rip-roaring 1930s third person adventure for 1-4 players! Encounter pulse-pounding action, treacherous traps and tales of derring-do!

Strange Brigade runs excellently via cloud streaming or with moderate success through CrossOver using D3DMetal, though it lacks a native Apple Silicon port.

Buy on AllKeyShopSee how to play it on your Mac
Strange Brigade screenshot 1Strange Brigade screenshot 2Strange Brigade screenshot 3Strange Brigade screenshot 4Strange Brigade screenshot 5Strange Brigade screenshot 6

What the world thinks

  1. Install CrossOver and create a new Steam bottle.
  2. Install Steam within the bottle and download Strange Brigade.
  3. Important: Before launching, go to the Bottle Settings and toggle D3DMetal to ON (this provides better performance than DXVK for this specific title).
  4. When launching the game, the Rebellion launcher will appear. Select DirectX 12 rather than Vulkan; while Vulkan is typically better for Mac, the translation layer for Strange Brigade's DX12 implementation is currently more stable under D3DMetal.

Performance

How Strange Brigade runs on your Mac, from our performance model and player reports.

See exactly how Strange Brigade will run on your Mac

Pick your chip and RAM for a personalised estimate.

Best way to play it on Mac

Strange Brigade runs excellently via cloud streaming or with moderate success through CrossOver using D3DMetal, though it lacks a native Apple Silicon port.

Buy on AllKeyShopSee how to play it on your Mac
See if this is the right method for your setup

Ways to play Strange Brigade on Mac

Here are all the options available, ranked by what we recommend first.

Compare methods at a glance

Lower = better

How each supported method stacks up on setup effort, time and runtime overhead.

  • ParallelsVMTop pick
    Setup
    Moderate
    Time
    30 min
    Overhead
    High
  • BoosteroidCloud
    Setup
    Simple
    Time
    5 min
    Overhead
    Low
  • CrossOverTranslation
    Setup
    Moderate
    Time
    15 min
    Overhead
    Medium

Where to buy Strange Brigade

Live prices compared across trusted PC key sellers — updates every few hours.

Platform-by-platform reliability

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Step-by-step setup guides

Idiot-proof walkthroughs for every method.

How to run Strange Brigade on Mac with Parallels

Estimate· Compatibility

Using Parallels to play Strange Brigade 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

  1. Buy / start a trial of Parallels Desktop.
  2. Install Windows 11 ARM via the one-click wizard.
  3. Inside Windows, install Steam / Xbox app and Strange Brigade.
  4. Enable DirectX 11 in Parallels settings for best 3D performance.

Video proof

Try Parallels Desktop free ↗Affiliate link — supports the site at no extra cost.

How to run Strange Brigade on Mac with CrossOver

Estimate· Compatibility

Running Strange Brigade through CrossOver translates its Windows DirectX calls into Metal on Apple Silicon — no reboot, no Windows license, no virtual machine. Most setup time is spent on first-time bottle configuration and installing the game launcher (Steam, Epic, etc.) inside CrossOver. Once that's done, launching feels close to native. Expect 15–30 minutes of setup on the first run.

Step-by-step

Step 1 — Create a bottle

  1. Open CrossOver → click New Bottle
  2. Name it after the game (e.g. Strange Brigade) and choose Windows 10 64-bit
  3. Open the bottle's Settings and set:

- Graphics: D3DMetal (not DXVK)

- Synchronization: ESync

- High Resolution Mode: Off

Step 2 — Install the game launcher

  1. Inside CrossOver, click Install Application → search for Steam (or Epic Games Launcher if you own it there)
  2. Install it into the same bottle you just created
  3. Launch Steam, log in, and let it fully update before proceeding

Step 3 — Install and launch Strange Brigade

  1. Open Steam (or your launcher) inside CrossOver
  2. Install Strange Brigade through the launcher as normal
  3. Launch the game — use the launcher's Play button, not CrossOver directly
  4. First launch may take 30–90 seconds to show a window. Don't force-quit unless it hangs for several minutes.

Step 4 — If you hit issues

  • Black screen / stuck in small window: go to Settings → Graphics in-game, set Screen Type to Fullscreen, then restart
  • Resolution resets on every launch: find the game's config/settings file and set the resolution values manually, then mark the file Read-Only to prevent the game overwriting it
  • Crashes on startup: try switching the bottle's Synchronization from ESync to MSync, or vice versa

Video proof

Try CrossOver free for 14 days ↗Affiliate link — supports the site at no extra cost.

How to run Strange Brigade on Mac with Boosteroid

Estimate· Streaming

Streaming Strange Brigade through Boosteroid is the fastest way to start playing on a Mac — there's nothing to install, no Windows VM, no compatibility layer. The game runs on a remote GPU and your Mac just receives the video, which means even a base M1 MacBook Air can play the most demanding AAA titles at high settings. The tradeoff is that you need a stable internet connection (ideally wired or 5GHz Wi-Fi with 25+ Mbps down) and a subscription.

Step-by-step

  1. Create a Boosteroid account and pick a plan.
  2. Use the web client or download the macOS app.
  3. Add Strange Brigade from their library (you'll need to own it on Steam/Epic).

Video proof

Get Boosteroid ↗Affiliate link — supports the site at no extra cost.

Our recommendation

For most Mac players the best way to play Strange Brigade on Mac is Parallels. Full Windows 11 ARM inside macOS.

MethodQualityDifficultyCost
ParallelsPickGoodMedium$99/year + Windows licence
CrossOverEstimateMedium$74 one-time / $39/year
BoosteroidEstimateEasy$9.95 / month
Try Parallels Desktop free

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