Yeah, walking sims are kind of an odd paradox. I find that it's rewarding to go in blind and just sort of absorb whatever they have to offer. I've done that for the mod, TSP:HD, and TDP:UD, and it's been a pretty fulfilling experience.
Just to offer an alternative example of a similar gameplay style, Gone Home is an example of how your mind tends to fill in a ton of gaps before you realize what actually happened. Watching a YouTube video where someone is exploring the house in their own way, interjecting their thoughts and opinions, kinda dilutes the experience for the viewer, and seeing the ending removes the point of getting that same experience for yourself.
It's pretty awful in terms of game design when you think about it, but I tend to not think of them less as games and more as interactive experiences. It's more akin to someone reading a book to you and telling you their opinions on each chapter before moving to the next one, or having someone commentate on a movie.
Oh, on another note: unfortunately, they wound up introducing a very Companion Cube-esque construct in TSP:UD. Expect a ton of Internet cringe for the next year or so.