This game (and the people behind it) are definitely deserving of the price if you have any love for this genre of games at all. I wish all games had this level of attention to detail and love poured into them over the years.
I too was a bit skeptical at first when I bought it on the Steam release but its been one of the best game purchases I’ve made in years easily. This is one of those games you’ll come back to time and time again over the years.
FWIW there is a free version on their website. It’s worth looking into. It doesn’t have the fancy steam graphics and interface which made the game much more accessible to people, but it’s an option if you want to see what it’s all about!