They mimic the apple application format to some degree and it is a great way to distribute. The real detriment is sandboxing but with more support this could be included.

Try booting into console mode. Maybe there was a botched update that needs to be fixed. Below are some instructions on how to boot into tty.

https://www.linuxuprising.com/2020/01/how-to-boot-to-console-text-mode-in.html

What is old is new again.