Is there a way to "try" Horizon Zero Dawn before I buy it?

Solution 1:

For a good amount of years, demos are not a very common thing. So no, there is no 'just try this vertical slice of HZD and see if you like it'.

But there is a way: Abusing the self refund policy of Valve.

Their policy: [...] issue a refund for any title that is requested within 14 days of purchase and has been played for less than 2 hours.

PSN's refund policy stops as soon as you install the game, so you can't do so on PSN.