I installed tinytopia using steam on Linux, but it installs a pre release beta instead of the final version. It looks like the dev actually build a Linux version when in early access but then neglected the platform.
In this case it can be ok as it’s not too different from the final windows build (physics of gravity looks off sometimes) and I can run at 60fps at ultra settings on my laptop, while if I run it from windows it’s a slideshow with the same graphics settings but I’m wondering: Is it possible to tell steam to ignore the native build and use the windows one with proton?
Yes, as the other responder said, tell steam through the properties dialogue to use Proton for compatibility.
It would also be a good idea to tell the devs that they have this issue. They can take down the Linux release and let it default to Proton, but they have to do it on their end.