New Video Game Lets Players Reclaim Stolen African Art

Imagine stealing back what was already stolen from you. That's the premise of Relooted, a new video game that turns cultural restitution into an action-packed adventure.

Released this week by South African studio Nyamakop, the game lets players become heroes on a rescue mission. Set in the late 21st century, you join a crew from across Africa working to recover 70 real artifacts, including a Yehoti mask from Burkina Faso, Congolese ishango sticks, and a Ngadji drum from Kenya.

The game's twist makes it more than entertainment. When museums in the story learn they only have to return publicly displayed items, they start hiding artifacts in storage. Your mission: reclaim them before they disappear forever.

Co-founder Ben Myres says authenticity drove every decision. The team created characters from across the continent, each with distinct regional accents and backgrounds. A Cameroonian character speaks with a francophone African accent, while an Angolan teammate brings an English-African voice.

Even the soundtrack breaks new ground. The game features only traditional African instruments and modern synthesizers, skipping the typical Western orchestras heard in most games. Every musical choice celebrates African culture as magnificent and deeply interesting.

The Ripple Effect

The game arrives as real-world restitution efforts gain momentum. More than 85 percent of African heritage currently sits outside the continent, with French museums alone holding an estimated 90,000 objects from sub-Saharan Africa.

Producer Sithe Ncube calls the game a form of activism. As an industry veteran, she knows African stories and art rarely get authentic representation in games. Having Africans tell their own stories to a global audience changes that dynamic.

President Emmanuel Macron pledged in 2017 to return African heritage within five years, pushing Belgium and Germany to launch similar programs. While progress continues, Relooted lets players experience what justice could look like.

Some critics questioned whether making African characters "thieves" sends the wrong message. But as one game character asks: "Is it really theft if it was already stolen?"

Ncube says the game offers something valuable either way. Players discover the real history of artifacts now sitting in the British Museum and Paris's Quai Branly Museum. They learn which cultures created them and why they matter.

The game proves African developers can compete with major Western studios while staying true to their roots. It shows African stories deserve the same epic treatment as any blockbuster, with the added bonus of teaching players about a continent's stolen treasures.

Relooted turns a painful history into an empowering adventure, one artifact at a time.