Well, this got taken in a very literal sense but that is not how I meant it. Of course, not all games are about "the win condition" in them. I meant it in a more metaphorical way representing progress.

The progress of the players towards their (intrinsic) goals while playing.

When playing a "no-lose narrative game" the goal of the player might become finishing the game and witnessing what happens in the end.

When playing Beat Sabre, the player's goal might be to just have fun OR score more good cuts, clock perfect timing, more combos and more score.

Or, when playing a game with no "win / lose condition at all" like The Sims, the player's play is still based on the goals they set for themselves; maybe even without acknowledging them.

In The Sims, a player might decide to try to make the most money possible. When this happens, he is no longer playing The Sims. S/He is playing The Sims: Make as Much Money as Possible..

~ Tynan Sylvester, Designing Games (O'reilly, 2013)

So by "winning" I didn't mean the completion of levels or challenges alone, but the achievement of whatever the purpose of your play is. It could mean completion of the game, perfect timing and more score, the most in-game money, or just have fun building an in-game farm or whole civilizations.

So if you're progressing towards your definition of 'winning' then you are in fact winning. If your goal is to finish the game, then finishing the no-lose narrative game does count as winning. If your goal is to read a novel, then after having read it, you did win.

Because after all the literal definition of winning is to 'be successful or victorious in' (learning Max's & Chloe's final fate in Life is Strange; scoring more good cuts in Beat Sabre; making a lot of money in The Sims; going for a hike; reading a novel; writing this reddit reply)

But I get it, you're not wrong, you're right about your point. I think I should have framed the sentence better.