A prototype of an abandoned SNES Rayman game is playable on PC

A recently discovered prototype for a SNES version of Rayman is now playable on PC – but you'll need an emulator. The prototype was uploaded by developer Omar Cornut, founder of Lizardcube, whose recent Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap remaster is a best case example of how remakes should be done.

Cornut has the blessing of Rayman creator Michel Ancel, who re-discovered the abandoned prototype late last year. Be aware that it's very much a prototype, so don't go in expecting a fully-fledged Rayman platformer. But it's definitely a nice piece of history, one well worth salvaging from the storms of time.

"It's a really early demo, not really a playable game," Cornut warned on Twitter. He continued later: "According to old screenshots and reports it did grow to a more fully fledged game but a later version wasn't found yet."

To run it, you'll need to download the prototype via Dropbox, and then run it with whatever SNES emulator you're using – apparently it'll work with most.

Here's some footage from the ROM, if you don't care to boot it yourself:

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.