I think it depends on what app the formatting is displayed on.
That is probably where the confusion lies here. Because in the default Lemmy web UI, omitting the space literally displays the number signs as-is without making the line a larger font at all.
A question about this: does it change the way it actually looks? I’ll fix it, but I’d love to know if there’s a practical difference in using space vs no space?
Without the space, they don't render as a header at all.
I think changing it to something like "List of my favorite 100% Free Games - no ads, no IAPs" should suffice. To me, that comes off as having a more genuine/personal feel
And careful throwing around terms like "100% Free" around here, considering most of the titles in your list are not free open source software in the "libre" sense that Lemmy users tend to expect more than Reddit users do.
What is the joke here? I assume this is referencing a very specific piece of media