I've been working on a game for the past few years, mostly for fun, but I recently thought it would be a good idea to upload it to itch so other people can play it. I have next to no advertising for this game, and it's already finished, so I was wondering how should I release it? I know that the first week of its release has a major impact on how it will perform on the trending page, but is it really THAT important to get onto the itch trending page? I was thinking I might be able to post my game and then spread it through social media, but I would like to hear other people's thoughts.

No, it isn't. You'll be on the Most Recent page for hours at best. It will take a while, and organic traffic from real promotion work, to get relatively popular and start showing up in searches consistently. Use social media. Use the forum. Have a website of your own. Be present, so that people remember you exist and check out your stuff.

Ah okay! Thank you!