Incredibly shiny action role-playing game Godfall is still looking for players a year after its debut as a PlayStation 5 launch game. When it didn’t make a big splash on PS5 and PC, it added a PS4 version. Now the devs have stripped away the story and campaign to create the Challenger Edition, a special version of the game, that will be free for a limited time to PlayStation Plus and Epic Store users later this month.”. What else does a developer have to do to get people playing Godfall?

It’s not that Godfall is a bad game. I played a dozen hours or so when the game launched last year. The action RPG combat is solid and satisfying. The graphics are a bit busy, never shying away from shiny metal textures and showers of exploding particles, but all-in-all it is a decent if unremarkable hack-and-slash adventure. In terms of scored reviews, the game lands squarely in the average column, with a 61 average on Metacritic for the PS5 version and 59 on PC. There is no Metacritic score for August’s PS4 version, as no outlet cared enough to review it.

Despite the lukewarm reception, developer Counterplay Games soldiers on. Over the past year, it’s released two major updates: February’s Primal Update, and the Lightbringer update in August. August also saw the launch of the game’s first major expansion, Fire & Darkness, which added the elemental Fire Realm to the existing Water, Air, and Earth Realms.

Now comes the next step. Godfall: Challenger Edition is a trimmed-down version of the game for PlayStations and PC. Though priced at $15, it will be available free to PlayStation Plus subscribers from December 7 through January 31, and the Epic Game Store from December 9 through 16. For this special edition the developers have stripped away the story campaign, leaving just the final stages of the game. As detailed in a post on the PlayStation Blog, players can instantly jump to the max level of 50, gaining access to a ton of skill points and weapons. From there they can jump into any of Godfall’s endgame activities.

Should a free player like what they experience in Godfall’s endgame, they can purchase the Deluxe Edition of the game to experience the story and campaign modes. And if not, at least players who’ve been around since launch will have some new friends with whom to play in the endgame content.

It’s a little sad, watching a solid little game like Godfall desperately clinging to life. Hopefully the influx of new players with the PlayStation Plus version will give it a second chance at success. And if not, at least it’s still seen more success than publisher Gearbox’s ill-fated Battleborn.