In Relooted, gamers plan the perfect heist to reclaim Africa’s stolen artifacts

South African game developer Nyamakop has crafted an unusual title with Relooted, a side-scrolling heist game that transforms cultural repatriation into compelling gameplay. Players assemble diverse crews from across Africa to liberate 70 real artifacts currently housed in Western museums, navigating stealth-based puzzles that blend parkour mechanics with Ocean's Eleven-style planning.

The game emerged from a family dinner conversation after developer Ben Myres' mother visited the British Museum and was appalled by what she saw. Two years of research later, the team had painstakingly recreated artifacts like a Kenyan drum that local communities believed had been destroyed for over a century, only to discover it gathering dust in museum storage.

Once players grab an artifact, they have just 30 seconds to escape as alarms blare and security systems activate. Each crew member brings specialized skills — lock picking, hacking, acrobatics — and represents specific African countries with authentic voice acting sourced from those regions. The studio grew from three to 30 people during development, deliberately building a team that could bring genuine cultural authenticity to both the visual design and narrative elements.

TREND BITE
Relooted exemplifies how gaming is becoming a vehicle for cultural reclamation and education, tapping into broader consumer demand for authentic, global perspectives that challenge and reclaim colonial narratives. The game arrives as younger audiences increasingly question whose stories get told and who controls culture, reflecting a shift toward more conscious consumption of entertainment.

By gamifying a serious political issue while maintaining respect for its subject matter, Nyamakop demonstrates how brands can engage with social justice topics without preaching, letting players draw their own conclusions about whether these artifacts belong in Western museums or African communities. Entertainment doesn't have to shy away from hard truths; instead, it can transform them into agency. In Relooted, players aren't just looting for thrills — they're engaging in symbolic justice. Expect more media formats that tackle serious, historically complex issues with irreverent, energetic gameplay.