I do want to play it, but I also flatly refuse to use the Epic platform. My desire to stand upon my principles is much greater than my desire to play a videogame.

not true, its different on steam. epic doesnt have trading cards or achievements. steam does, so you get paid to play the game on steam by selling cards and you get the feeling of accomplishment by getting achievements on steam. no one plays games just to play games, we need achievements so we can feel like we did something