No, TDMs aren't mandatory. But they are functional and have their purpose printed right in the name: Test Drive. Your commitment to picking a game is admirable, but that's still a resource you can do literally nothing but benefit from, even if it's just looking at it instead of participating. Rightly so when you keep in mind the example of wanting to watch for unwanted player elements. I get not wanting to participate somewhat, but outright overlooking them is silly in that context.