Relooted Review: A Thrilling Heist Game Turns Crime Into Justice

"I did not expect that playing would hurt so much. It's a game that offers me the chance to return African artifacts to their home countries from the culturally genocidal institutions that stole them. In a word: Very much my shit. But instead of fist pumps and "fuck yeah!"s, playing left me with bittersweet resignation tinged with overwhelming rage. When I first discovered at Summer Game Fest, I did indeed greet it with a hearty, "fuck yeah.""

"You can research where the artifacts are held, investigate security measures, choose where to enter the building, and plan your escape route. During the game, Nomali recruits more team members-each with their own specialized skills-to help with mission-critical tasks like unlocking doors or hacking security robots. Then, when it's go time, you must use Nomali's parkour skills combined with your teammates' abilities to escape."

"I often spent 20-40 minutes setting up the most efficient, safest route through a building, a plan that would then only take seconds to execute. The planning phase is the puzzle part of the game's equation. Buildings are arranged with a collection of locked doors, reinforced glass windows, sensors, pressure plates, and more that Nomali must navigate without triggering the alarms before she's ready to run."

Nyamakop's Johannesburg-based studio created a puzzle-platformer where players control Nomali, a parkour enthusiast who "steals" artifacts from museums and collectors to return them to their countries of origin. Players research artifact locations, investigate security measures, choose entry points, recruit specialized teammates, and plan escape routes. The planning phase involves arranging routes through locked doors, reinforced glass, sensors, and pressure plates, often taking 20–40 minutes, while execution takes seconds using parkour and teammates' abilities. Premature alarms close security doors and trigger heavy countermeasures. The game subverts the treasure-hunter trope and elicits bittersweet resignation alongside overwhelming anger and satisfaction.

Read at Kotaku