The thing is you can def talk about whatever else in the game
The dialogue, the visuals, music, etc.
You can still have opinions on the other stuff, but if the conversation is “gameplay” your words mean nothing unless you’ve played the damn thing
I’m tired of people thinking that “if you never played a game yourself, your opinions on it is invalid”is an elitist take. No one is shaming you for not being able to afford games. They’re shaming you because you don’t have the firsthand experience with the media you critique.