a thing I always think about that makes me favor that sorta price tag is that as a kid I'd exclusively engage with steam with $20 gift cards, which cannot cover a $20 game with tax. I frequently wonder if this is a common experience.

I see devs get prickly about playtesting because they're afraid of being "focus grouped" or having the edges sanded off.
The point of playtesting is to see if what you intended was what the player actually experienced, and there's no other way to find this out than putting it in front of someone.

have you seen the mod museum levels on the workshop?

I visited London recently and my local friends insisted that I experience a greggs sausage roll

kindness and love appearing in the steam discussions like a cryptid