This sounds like the best you could possibly do!
What are the odds this baby will be made compatible with Java?
What are the odds this baby will be made compatible with Java?
However they are usually testing components from end-to-end. This seems not very amenable to benefitting this approach, since "side effects" are an inherent part of nearly every integration test.
Regarding side effects, completely fine as long as they're mapped out. Would love to hear more, nothing pitchy or salesy.