[2021] Can this game be run without Steam (DRM-free)?

Hello, the Steam version is not Drm free so you cannot launch it without Steam but you can with GOG and Itch io versions

Originally posted by sub0pengu: Are there any planned updates on the Itch version before full release? As the version on Itch is nearly 2 years old

Hello, we'll plan to update the itch io version for the release (v1) and for future major updates post launch, we are updating a lot the Steam version during the EA and it was too much to handle multiple stores with that patch rate so it will change with the release.