just asking:
it runs without the steam client being ever present/installed at all on the machine
or
it runs without launching steam though the steam client is installed on the computer anyway ?

thank you for supplying additional info on this

Theoretically, this. You can copy the installed folder to another computer that doesn't have Steam installed and the game should still run.

And can I download it without using the Steam client?

Nope.

Or to be more precise, you can't download the games via a browser.

What about SteamCMD?

Too little, too late my friend ;)

It's never too late.

I know. It was a rhetorical "let's drop the >DRM-free on Steam< nonsense once and for all" question.

I don't get why OP is downvoted, It's not really beneficial to gog's PR image to host a version that is severely outdated and doesn't seem to get any updates at all anymore. There should at least be a disclaimer on the product page.

I wouldn't pull it completely, but I can see why people would want to.

The only way to end it, is to provide a widely-accepted definition of what is DRM-Free or not, once and for all. Which is difficult, when there are people who don't consider even GOG DRM-Free, thanks to the multiplayer restrictions present in some games (Galaxy-only or serials).

BTW what about the Fahrenheit remastered edition, did that ever show up here?
Or is it from a different publisher or something?

Different publisher, indeed.

Ah well that explains it.

I know, but there being a difference between what goes as "DRM-free" on GOG and on Steam is obvious and undeniable, so acting like a game being "DRM-free" in one store is equivalent to it being in the other is obviously wrong.