Yup, a lot of chemical properties are dictated by the number of outermost free ("valence") electrons, and atoms in columns in the periodic table all have the same number of valence electrons, hence similar chemical properties.

The University of Nottingham's School of Chemistry has some great, brief videos on various elements if you're ever interested: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtESv1e7ntJaLJYKIO1FoYw