The issue isn’t even The Steam platform, that i Gather

Valve has a policy that Steam Keys Cannot be sold cheaper on other platforms

However

Developers can still generate and sell their own Keys, on other platforms, At a lower price (Like on GoG, Humble store)

Theres nothint stopping a Dev from using multiple platforms, they just can’t distribute Steam specific keys on another storefront cheaper

I dont really understand on the aspect of the soap opera effect. Interpolation is usually what causes it, not running at “True Framerates”

Since I’ve been playing games at 60FPS for Years, then 144 I just get motion sickness at 30 FPS

It doesnt feel more cinematic to me, Just feels worse to play due to the overall input latency and general responsiveness

I think the answer of this is just “It Depends”

Some Games are very good at story telling and making a compellint narrative

Others are genuinely awful at ir

But thata just like any piece of consumable media, not all of it is good