Why do ProtonDB "Platinum/Gold" tweaks fail completely on Bazzite? (e.g., Sonic Forces, NFS 2015)

Hey everyone,

I’m really enjoying Bazzite overall, but I’m running into a frustrating wall when trying to get certain games to run, and I’m hoping someone can explain what’s going on under the hood.

My issue is this: I check ProtonDB, see that a game works perfectly for other Linux or Steam Deck users, and I copy their exact settings (specific GE-Proton versions, launch options, winetricks, etc.). But when I apply those exact same tweaks on my Bazzite install, the games just flat-out refuse to work or constantly crash.

Here are two examples I'm struggling with right now:

• Sonic Forces: There's a well-known crash when the game tries to load pre-rendered videos (like the menu or the character creator). ProtonDB users suggest using specific GE-Proton versions or launch options like PROTON_NO_ESYNC=1 PROTON_NO_FSYNC=1 PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 %command%. I've tried all of this, plus manually injecting Media Foundation libraries (mf-install / wmp11) via Flatpak Protontricks. Absolutely nothing works; it crashes at the exact same spot every time.
• Need for Speed (2015): Similar story. It's supposed to be playable with some minor tweaks according to ProtonDB, but on my end, it's just a dead end.

Just to rule out the usual suspects right away:

• All my game drives are natively formatted in ext4 (I am absolutely not using NTFS).
• I'm using the standard Bazzite setup.

My question is: Is there something fundamentally different about how Bazzite handles Proton, dependencies, or wineprefixes compared to traditional distros (like Arch/Ubuntu) or the native Steam Deck OS? Are Flatpak permissions or the immutable nature of Bazzite secretly blocking these ProtonDB workarounds from actually applying? Any insights or explanations would be hugely appreciated! Thanks!