So my main question is how do you reassure yourself that your game has value and how do you avoid getting caught up and obsessively worry about the amount of views, downloads or comments you get for them
Stuff we write sounds always better in our own head. Because we already know all the intentions and meanings. This goes so far, that most people are unable to detect their own tpyos.
So basically ... you can't. Not by yourself. Find people that are not fans of yours (like your mum), but still like the general genre you are aiming for and let them proofread.
As for the exposure, even if your stuff is good, unless it is exceptional good and has gone viral on its own, you still need some form of marketing. I often see good stuff and wonder, why is there not a single comment or rating on this. An announcement post on itch is not enough marketing. You get maybe 50 page views for those. And I bet not all those page views will visit the game page.
There are currently 22000+ visual novesl on itch. When I go to top rated, it is only 10k. I am not entirely sure what that means, but I think that means that the algorithm says, that over half of those 22k vn are basically unrated. Wich begs the question, if those 12k vn have no value. Or just did not manage to profilerate out of the plethora of other vn trying to do the same.
If you had fun making it, it has value. But to be hones, just like many people like to proverbially sing under the shower, that does not mean that their singing is worth hearing. That being said, story telling and game making are skills. If you are at if for some time, you should have some kind of idea about your level of skill. But as also said, even if you are good, you are not the only one that is good. And itch is self publishing. In the olden days being published was the hurdle to take to know your stuff is "worth it".