After the past few months, not many had a lot of confidence in the PS Plus free games selection in December. Many will continue to argue that it’s better than Games with Gold offerings, sure, but the past few months have seen many PS Plus subscribers get upset with the offerings. Then, the big PS Plus rumor from a reliable source came out, suggesting fans would get Godfall, Mortal Shell, and LEGO DC Super-Villains.
This, as it stands there, would have been a good month for the service. It wouldn't have landed with everyone, but it included a standard action RPG, a soulslike title, and a simple, fun LEGO game. Mortal Shell and Godfall are solid games to play while waiting for Elden Ring, even if Godfall didn’t have the best launch. It’s made improvements and would be worth playing again or for the first time at the cost of free, while LEGO DC Super-Villains really just brings in some pure simple DC fun. The problem is, whereas Mortal Shell and LEGO DC Super-Villains can accomplish that, it’s impossible to do that with Godfall when it isn’t a full game.
PS Plus’ Free Games for December 2021 Godfall: Challenger Edition Explained
The initial rumors couldn’t have known, as Godfall is technically a free PS Plus game this month, but it’s the “Challenger Edition.” This is not something that had never been mentioned or revealed before, making it impossible to predict, and it does not include the entire Godfall experience. In fact, many have called it a demo as it contains so little of the game.
The entire story is removed, as well as Godfall’s Fire and Darkness expansion. Players will instead jump straight to endgame content with an endgame build, focusing on three game modes: Lightbringer (a horde-like mode), Dreamstones (relive the memories of Orin), and Ascended Tower of Trials (tower crawler with bosses).
This led PS Plus subscribers to get quite upset, calling the game “a demo.” In all fairness, that’s exactly what it sounds like, but Counterplay Games (developer of Godfall) denies this. After Godfall: Challenger Edition’s stint on PS Plus and Epic Games Store, it’ll be released as an edition of the game at $14.99. It denies that this is a trial or demo, instead calling it a new “cut-price, limited-feature edition.” Many see quite through this as a marketing twist on the phrase demo, as this is exactly what this is.
Overall, Godfall had a promising month ahead when it was first thought the full game would be on PS Plus, but many are not happy with it and are making it quite known. That’s why this is a good thing for 2022.
Why Such a PS Plus Free Games Controversy is Good for 2022
The PS Plus community is quite vocal, and oftentimes, it may seem that their cries fall on deaf ears. After all, month after month, there are quite a few upset by the free games. The problem is, there’s no making everyone happy in this regard, but Sony can alter direction to make fans happy. For example, back in May 2020 was probably one of the worst times for PS Plus. Fans actually drew up a petition to change the free PS Plus games, and it blew up. The same has happened a few times since, including to change now to change Godfall to the full version, but never at the same level as that time.
From there, Sony broke from its pattern and offered fans two big games for the next month. Quickly, it also began its hot streak and moved into using PS Plus to push PS5 games and sales thereafter. It changed direction due to how fans were upset, and it could have happened here too.
The truth is pretty simple: Godfall: Challenger Edition can be a “cut-price, limited-feature edition,” but PS Plus is supposed to give out free games, not free “cut-price, limited-feature editions.” Many were quick to call this out, to call it a demo, and so on. What this means is that, assuming Sony does hear and factor this in, fans won’t likely see another “cut-price, limited-feature edition” appear on the service. No matter how fancily it is worded or what comes of it, the free games are supposed to be free games, not free short versions of games. It's a small thing, but it's something that will clearly never land well with PS Plus subscribers.
If a demo was released on PS Plus and was well-received, no matter for what game, Sony may have worked that more into PS Plus’ future. With this reaction, it stands to reason that this controversy ends PS Plus in 2021 with this bad note but a lesson learned as it moves into 2022 and potential Xbox Game Pass competitor Codename Spartacus.
PS Plus subscribers get a handful of free games every month.