i mean part of the issue is we don't have the vocabulary to differentiate whether someone "beat" a game with outside help or not
it's like people who don't know if they can say they "read" a book if they listened to the audio version or if watching a full playthrough of a gameplay-less VN counts as having "played" it
savestates and cheats are one case. but what about using a guide?
if i used a walkthrough to tell me every step in a turn-based puzzle game... did i "beat" it?
context matters here. if i categorize Baba is You as "beaten" on my backlog tracker, even though i used a guide for every step, is that a lie? it's pretty different than if someone says "what's the toughest puzzle game you beat?" and i answer "Baba is You".