You can now play the best Zelda spinoff for free while you count down the minutes to Tears of the Kingdom

The Legend of Zelda: Cadence of Hyrule — (Image credit: Brace Yourself Games)

Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer is free to play for a limited time, giving Switch Online subscribers something better to do than counting down the minutes to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

In case you haven't played it, Cadence of Hyrule is an absolutely sublime rhythm-based roguelike Zelda spinoff that launched on Switch to rave reviews back in 2019. There's been a free demo for years that you can still get today, and now the whole game is available to download and play for free through Sunday, May 7 as part of Nintendo's Game Trials.

If you do decide to give it a go, we have a bunch of guides that are still very relevant today, including Cadence of Hyrule tips, where to find the Cadence of Hyrule Flippers, how to beat the Cadence of Hyrule Lost Woods, and whether to choose Cadence of Hyrule Link or Zelda at the start. These should help you clear the game as quickly as possible to ensure you get through at least one run during the free trial.

Finally, Nintendo and developer Brace Yourself Games are sweetening the deal for those who do want to keep the beat going after the trial. Not only will your save file carry over to the full game, but there's also a 50% discount going for Cadence of Hyrule and its season pass on the Switch eShop. That should be more than enough to keep you busy until Tears of the Kingdom arrives and steals all of our free time.

Speaking of the Breath of the Wild sequel, it's officially Tears of the Kingdom leak season, so tread carefully in the short time until launch.

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After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.