Relooted is a novel video game developed by Nyamakop, a studio based in Africa. The game revolves around the concept of stealing African artifacts from museums and private residences to restore them to their rightful historical owners.
While it may seem like a work of fiction initially, the creators emphasize that all the featured artifacts in the game are authentic.
“We didn’t need to invent anything about these artifacts because their history is well-documented,” stated Mohale Mashigo, the narrative director of Relooted.
The protagonist, Nomali, is a young woman with a background in athletics, parkour, and free running. She returns from Tanzania to Johannesburg in a futuristic setting to reunite with her family. Nomali’s grandmother recruits her and a small team to infiltrate museums and private collectors’ estates, retrieve significant artifacts, and bring them back to their rightful African heritage.
According to experts, there are hundreds of thousands of African artifacts outside the continent, with Western institutions holding between 90 and 95 percent of them. Many of these items were taken by Western colonizers and some have ended up in black markets or with unidentified collectors.
One of the early missions in Relooted involves retrieving two of the Benin Bronzes, part of a collection belonging to the Kingdom of Benin, present-day Nigeria. While some have been repatriated to Nigeria from Germany and Scotland, several remain in British museums.
Avoiding ‘Wakandification’ of African stories
In Nyamakop’s first game, a cartoony platformer named Semblance, there were no overt references to the studio’s African roots.
The creative director, Ben Myres, initially hesitated to explore “African-themed, African-inspired games” due to financial concerns. However, everything changed with the release of a certain Marvel movie.
“The premiere of Black Panther in mid-2018, which also touched on the theme of reclaiming African artifacts to some extent, made me reconsider and think that perhaps the time was right,” he mentioned.
The studio aimed to anchor the game’s narrative in reality, even though the characters and visuals could fit within a Saturday morning cartoon lineup.
“These are genuine countries and artifacts. This approach prevents the risk of creating a fantasy story about Africa like in ‘Wakanda’,” Mashigo explained, referring to the fictional African nation from the Black Panther films.
Myres added, “When it’s science fiction set in real future locations, it becomes more of a vision than a fantasy.”
Casing the joint
During the mission briefings in the game, players receive a quick history lesson on the artifacts they are set to liberate. The educational segment is brief as the focus shifts to navigating the challenges within the