I think the options for the free version have been curtailed rather severely recently.
The only positive for those who economically struggle is the price of play + on occasion has been reduced even further to £12.50p which is an absolute steal.
Keep your eyes peeled around holiday times.

Good marketing is based on good psychology. There are scientifically proven ways to influence human behaviour, and that is essentially what marketing does.

One principle of human behaviour is "positive reinforcement", which states that behaviour that is rewarded is likely to be repeated. This principle works only when a behaviour has already been acted out, and THEN rewarded.

Rewarding behaviour that hasn't happened yet is not positive reinforcement... it is bribery.

Bribery yields much less predictable results, because once the reward is received there is little incentive to perform the behaviour; And that's the key problem with giving the product away in hopes that the recipient will pay for a few more features.

This is different than having free accessories available to people who have paid, because that really does provide an extended and continuing reward to everyone who has bought the premium product.

The way positive reinforcement manifests when you give stuff away is that it rewards people for NOT spending money, and it reinforces in their mind that begging for more free stuff is what gets results. This logical death spiral is what undermines the financial stability of companies and governments.

Indeed, I fear the world is already so submerged in debt that was accrued in order to give things away today in hope of a future payoff that will never come... well.. that's a whole new rant. Time to stop.

In summary, there's a reason why most software companies offer timed demo versions that stop working after a while unless the product is bought. A timed demo lets people see if the product is compatible with their work style, but it doesn't undermine the company's sales by giving away the product. And it makes a huge statement about the perceived value of the product.

Its a variation of the old saying "Why buy the cow if you are already getting the milk for free?"

standard disclaimer: This is all presented as my personal opinion, not as universal truth. Your mileage may vary. I'm a grouchy old man. Get off my lawn!