This person would humbly like to suggest to add to all games presently available a time-trial. The added value of considering to implement such functionality to all titles is two-fold:

On the one hand would it allow for a reasonable* period of time to play the game before buying* it. On the other hand there is no burden on Steam as concerns the necessity develop a specific solution in order to make such option available. There is the 'Free Weekend' option, which, in effect, is already a time-trial for a particular title made available for a certain amount of time.

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*reasonable: It could automatically be calculated and set to an amount of time which allows a prospective buyer to make an informed decision as to whether he or she would buy it after said period is over. It could also be done manually by allowing developers/publishers to set the amount of time made available for their titles.

*time: To determine the amount of time as such, the expected total amount of playtime of an average player could be taken as base value. Say a title amounts to 28 hours of total playtime. A reasonable amount to gain a good impression and being able to make an informed decision towards whether one should or should not buy would then be anywhere between 2 and 4 hours. (These 2 to 4 hours are for sake of example ...). If the decision would be up to the developer/publisher to make that determination, and maybe even if it were set automatically, there would always be the opportunity to tweak the length so it 'fits' the title in question.

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*buying: As there is the possibility to buy a game, play it for less than or equal to two hours and find it isn't for you, or haven't played it, or haven't been able to play it at all, there is the option to redeem the tile. This then takes a certain amount of time until the request is processed, and again until the amount paid is credited to your account. When having a trial-period in place, this could also undergo a change. If, at the end of the time period, a title has been worth a buy and is bought, the option to request a *redemption of a Steam key could be stricken. as it is expected to have been an informed purchase based on one's own first hand experience.

*redemption: This option in that case should be reserved an made available only if in a title there exists a/any number of game-breaking and/or general bug/s to such extent, that it makes it impossible to keep playing without lots of frustration involved. Another case in which the option to request redemption could be left as an option is when a direct buy without taking advantage of the trial-period has taken place. (Then again, if someone blindly buys a title, this could be a point to argue whether it would really make sense to retain this functionality. They could have tried the game before buying, as an argument. Taking this into account, if - under such circumstance - a request is made, it could be processed and granted as a gesture of goodwill.)

For the purpose of adding yet another and final argument speaking for the realization of this suggestion, there is one last point this person wishes to add. If such functionality were available, it would help Indy developers to gain more exposure, which holds the potential to push sales. Additionally the number of reviews based on either the trial experience or the full version will likely increase, giving them insight as to whether and why someone has/has not bought their title. For the established publishers/developers the same holds true, they also learn what a gamer has to say and how to improve the title so sales will increase. If not on that, so hopefully on the future title in their pipeline.

- tl::tr -
In short, there is a trial period in the form of 'free weekend' in place. It has the potential to be applied to all available titles in the store. There is huge potential to lessen the workload and cost involved when not having to deal with request to redeem keys. For developers, the benefit is to gain exposure, to increase potential sales, there is no need to create a demo version (which they do exist but this means additional workload with little benefit and value for prospective buyers/customers). Lastly, we, as customers, can then make an informed decision whether it is worth the money for us. What matters is that It should benefit and be a win-win option for all parties. (And this person would lie not to mention that it should be most beneficial to us as customers.)
- tl::tr.end -

So, what say you, community?
What say you, developers?
And, what say you, Valve?