A New Video Game Lets Players Reclaim Africa's Stolen Treasures

"Everyone loves to hear about an audacious heist-from the brazen break-in to the breathtakingly narrow escape-but what if we were asked to side with the thieves? This is the proposition of Relooted, a new video game that sees a team of vigilantes reclaim looted African artifacts from Western museums. The provocative game puts a spotlight on several contested treasures, including the Bangwa Queen, the Maqdala Crown, and the prehistoric Ishango bone. "It's not just a heist," claims one trailer for Relooted. "It's a rescue mission.""

"Players of the game are transported into an Afrofuturistic world imagined by the South African game studio Nyamakop. It is the late 21st century, and a fictional diplomatic agreement, known as the Transatlantic Returns Treaty, has long ensured a steady flow of Africa's stolen cultural riches are repatriated by Western museums. That is, until the addition of a recent amendment stipulating that only those artifacts on public display must be returned. Cue a rush to hide the looted goods in storage."

"Together with a crew of accomplices from different countries across Africa, game player Nomali will hatch a plan to take back up to 70 of these stolen treasures before it's too late. Luckily, Nomali is a parkour pro able to sprint, climb, leap, and vault to freedom. Some of the other highlights of the game include an opportunity to case the joint before the break-in, preparing an escape route ahead of time by solving puzzles, and strategically positioning teammates."

Relooted places players in a late-21st-century Afrofuturistic setting where a Transatlantic Returns Treaty once ensured repatriation of stolen African cultural objects. A new amendment allows museums to avoid returns by hiding contested items in storage, prompting a rush to conceal treasures. Players control Nomali and a multinational crew aiming to recover up to 70 looted artifacts before they are hidden. Gameplay combines parkour movement, planning, casing locations, puzzle-solving, and team coordination. Real contested items such as the Bangwa Queen, the Maqdala Crown, and the Ishango bone feature, linking gameplay to ongoing restitution and colonial legacy debates.

Read at Artnet News