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Game turns frustration into action
In 2099, the Transatlantic Returns Treaty is crumbling as Western institutions exploit loopholes to avoid repatriating African artefacts. Frustrated by decades of broken promises, artefacts expert Professor Grace assembles a team of specialists-including her grandchildren-to reclaim stolen treasures in a high-stakes heist. This is the premise of Relooted, an African-futurist video game released this week by South African studio Nyamakop.
The team behind the mission
Professor Grace recruits her grandchildren, Nomali and Trevor, along with her former student Etienne, to execute a series of museum break-ins. Nomali, a sports scientist and parkour expert, leads the operation, navigating obstacles to retrieve 70 sacred and cultural objects. Her brother Trevor, a locksmith and security systems specialist, ensures access to high-security locations. Etienne, a Belgian-British insider, provides critical intelligence.
The crew expands to include Ndedi, a Cameroonian acrobat; Cryptic, a Kenyan hacker; and Fred, a Congolese getaway driver and gadget maker. Each brings unique skills to the nonviolent heists, which rely on puzzle-solving, teamwork, and athleticism rather than force.
A heist with no payday
Unlike traditional heist narratives, Relooted offers no financial reward. The team's motivation stems from the shifting goalposts of the Transatlantic Returns Treaty, which now mandates the return of only publicly displayed artefacts-prompting museums to hide contested items in storage. The game's narrative director, Mohale Mashigo, describes Nomali's reluctant involvement as a protective measure: "She joins to shield her family from the dangers of the mission."
"Nomali reluctantly agrees to the first heist to prove how dangerous the whole thing is. She would do anything for her family-and she joins them as a way to protect them from themselves and the real danger that is involved in heists."
Mohale Mashigo, narrative director
Real artefacts, fictional justice
The game's artefacts are based on real objects looted during colonialism and later periods. Among them is the Kabwe 1 skull, a 300,000-year-old human fossil discovered in Zambia in 1921 and held by London's Natural History Museum. The Asante Gold Mask, taken during the 1874 destruction of the royal palace in Kumasi, Ghana, is now in the Wallace Collection. Another target is the Ngwi Ndem (Bangwa Queen), a sacred wooden sculpture from Cameroon, purchased by the Dapper Foundation in 1990 for $3.4 million despite formal repatriation requests.
The game's climax sees the reclaimed artefacts delivered to the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar, Senegal-a symbolic staging point for their eventual return to their communities of origin.
From outrage to entertainment
Nyamakop CEO Ben Myres conceived Relooted after his mother visited the British Museum and saw the Nereid Monument, an ancient tomb dismantled and relocated from Turkey in the 19th century. "She was incensed," Myres recalled. "She flippantly said, 'You should make this into a game.'" Myres opted for artefacts over buildings, deeming the latter "not very fun" to steal in a game.
Project manager Sithe Ncube, from Zambia, believes the game's appeal extends beyond the African diaspora. "Taking back cultural artefacts that were looted is something a lot of people hope for-and fantasise about," she said. While Relooted is designed for PCs and consoles-limiting its accessibility in Africa, where mobile gaming dominates-Ncube argues that its interactive nature makes it a powerful tool for education and awareness.
Learning through play
Players can explore the artefacts' histories and cultural significance in the Hideout Room, a virtual space modelled after Johannesburg's Northcliff Water Tower. "You must actively engage in games," Ncube explained. "A lot of interactions are optional, but to achieve certain goals, you have to learn."
Myres emphasises that Relooted is primarily entertainment but also serves as a "general awareness-raising attempt about African culture, African history, and the scale of this cultural artefact looting." The game's creators hope it will challenge perceptions and highlight the ongoing struggle for restitution.
"I'm fairly certain that anyone who plays the game will come away with a new perspective. Whether it's about an unknown history, injustices that people are still waiting to be addressed, or even the fact that people in Africa can make games that are at a global standard."
Sithe Ncube, project manager
