How to play 7 Days to Die on Mac

PlatformsPlatform, Computer

Game summary

Building on survivalist and horror themes, players in 7 Days to Die can scavenge the abandoned cities of the buildable and destructable voxel world for supplies or explore the wilderness to gather raw materials to build their own tools, weapons, traps, fortifications and shelters. The horror (zombies) element makes up a large part of the game, including building and the fully destructible (voxel) environment - everything is built from blocks, similar to Minecraft, yet creating a very smooth look. With steady updates (but slow, avg. 2 major updates / year, with several minor ones in-between, mostly bug fixes) the game has steadily advanced and continues to advance in terms of graphics but even more so and more importantly, gameplay, having changed from being a mostly simple shooter and focused on elaborate crafting (changed with Alpha 12), to a full RPG experience, with Alpha 15 having introduced NPCs (traders only) and an extensive skill system and Alpha 17 introduced this as a categorized (traits-like) system. The game now also has an extensive traps, automated turrets via an electricity tier, plus a whole assortment of usable single- and multi-seating vehicles (manual and motor bikes, cars, gyrocopter) introduced in Alpha 17. The game can be played single-player (SP), multi-player (MP), co-op / PvE and PvP; game servers can be run either via the game client, or as a dedicated server with extensive configurability and number of modifications possible, including custom blocks and sounds, plus an event system, which created an active "modding" community and allows to experience the game in many different ways that were initially not intended.
First released: Dec 2013

Play 7 Days to Die on Mac with Parallels (virtualized)

The easiest way to play 7 Days to Die on a Mac is through Parallels, which allows you to virtualize a Windows machine on Macs. The setup is very easy and it works for Apple Silicon Macs as well as for older Intel-based Macs.

Parallels supports the latest version of DirectX and OpenGL, allowing you to play the latest PC games on any Mac. The latest version of DirectX is up to 20% faster.

Our favorite feature of Parallels Desktop is that when you turn off your virtual machine, all the unused disk space gets returned to your main OS, thus minimizing resource waste (which used to be a problem with virtualization).

7 Days to Die installation steps for Mac

Step 1
Go to Parallels.com and download the latest version of the software.
Step 2
Follow the installation process and make sure you allow Parallels in your Mac’s security preferences (it will prompt you to do so).
Step 3
When prompted, download and install Windows 10. The download is around 5.7GB. Make sure you give it all the permissions that it asks for.
Step 4
Once Windows is done installing, you are ready to go. All that’s left to do is install 7 Days to Die like you would on any PC.
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🕹 Editor's notes

7 Days To Die is a unique take on the horror survival game genre and brings us a series of rivetting concepts, gory visuals, and plenty of action-packed zombi-shooting gameplay. This open-world horror extravaganza was developed by the Fun Pimps and had its official early-access release in 2013 for pc and Mac OSx platforms. 

The game takes us on a desolate futuristic landscape filled with zombies and monsters that want to eat your face. Your job is to survive this unworldly environment and figure out a way to overcome this apocalyptic setting by eliminating any zombies you come across. 

Plot

7 Days to Die transports players into a randomly generated area where they can start their survival journey. The objective is to explore the ruins of Navezgane, Arizona, gather resources, find and craft weapons, and find a way to survive the endless hoards of zombies coming your way. 

Players are compelled to speedily scour the area and collect any items that can improve their chances of survival. Gain advantages by crafting ingenious tools, deadly weapons, and strong armor. Once you are ready, find a good spot to hide and be ready for anything that could be lurking in the corner. 

Gameplay

This game forces you to think out of the box and deal with your enemies in innovative ways. For example, instead of facing them head-on, the game teaches you to use traps and dispose of the meat-eating zombies using your superior intelligence. 

The game lets you play the gigantic map of Navezgane or use a randomly generated map that always results in a great experience. It also brings a deadly collection of zombies with distinctive features that make killing them a worthy challenge. You will encounter many types of enemies, such as screamer zombies and spider zombies, all of which bring a different set of challenges and strategies. Zombie killing has never been this exhilarating before!

Games like 7 Days to Die playable on Mac