Because too many white gamers don’t like to hear the word ‘decolonisation’

Relooted is the perfect video game to decolonise your playlist. Now, I grew up on Indiana Jones, Cities of Gold, The Mummy, Greek Mythology, and a bunch of ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ Books that more often ended in death rather than new discovery. Let me hold your hand when I say, Not Everything Belongs in a Museum (and I have strong views on ‘private collections’ too). My fave part of Indiana Jones is when he puts the artefact back where it belongs. And this–THIS–is why I love Relooted. But before you think I am too caught up in the concept to give a decent review, I’m going to tell you that the game devs absolutely nailed the concept and delivered an enjoyable game that connects gamers with the history and culture while balancing the educational points. They took a topic that is heating up across the media and gave it an outlet with hope and ideas. And bonus points for a soundtrack that slaps! Hell, I am eagerly waiting for Season 3 of Stuff the British Stole, with Marc Fennell. But there is a fine line between the return of stolen artefacts and the actual theft of historic artefacts. Relooted manages this tenuous debate, and potentially gives us a solution for the future. And if we get to steal from the rich, then count me in. 

What is Relooted?

Released in February 2026, Relooted is a fresh take on action-platformers and puzzle games. It’s a traditional heist game with untraditional methods: you play as Nomali, a parkour champ with a history of her own and a brother who seems to attract adventure or trouble–depending on how you look at it. Thanks to him, you are now part of a crew determined to re-loot 70 artefacts because you’re tired of waiting for governments to do something about it. In this African-futurist game, political powers have all agreed to a Transatlantic Returns Treaty, promising the repatriation of African artefacts from museums. Unfortunately, it doesn’t apply to private collectors, and thus many museums simply moved their favourites out of public display. 

Side note: This is already a well-known strategy used by some museums. The Chau Chak Wing Museum in Sydney (Australia) did this with some of its Egyptology collections, including the mummified body of an Egyptian boy, which the Egyptian government has requested be returned on many occasions. But I digress. Let’s go back to the video game set in 2099, where we have ways of dealing with this…

Nyamakop, the game studio behind Relooted, coded its soul into this game. Lead Developer Ben Myres thanks his mum for helping with the idea, after she visited the British Museum. At dinner that night, she was apparently ‘fueled with rage’ after seeing the entire front of a temple from the south of Türkiye moved to the British Museum. Mamma Myres: Many of us feel your rage and agree with everything we have. Let me introduce you to Marc.

Reviews for Relooted have been splintered, in part due to the racial response to the content material. Publications like the BBC don’t help, with its clickbait heading “New Video game sees Africans fantasise about taking back looted treasures”. I kid you not, that’s the heading here. This completely misses the very real-life point of this game, while also palming off the intelligent design of the puzzle platformer, never mind the absolutely condescending and patronising tone. Other sites tend to review Relooted as either a puzzle-platformer OR a historical-educational game. Let’s clear that up right now: This game is both. Indiana Jones is both. Uncharted is both. Tombraider is both. So I do not understand why Relooted doesn’t deserve a respectful review as both.

A Platformer Heist in Three Parts

Gameplay is broken into three (3) parts: scope the target, steal the artefact (*ahem* sorry, re-appropriate), and escape. First, the player uses a drone to scope out the location, noting pinch points, security features, and anything that might get in the way. The next step is to pre-empt the heist by adjusting the layout within the platformer. This includes moving tables to optimal positions, assigning teammates to help, and removing any blockages to ensure a smooth getaway. This requires your attention because once the third stage is reached, there is no stopping. Stage 3 is Escape; stealing the artefact triggers everything, and you need to move like Agemo* to escape out of the building. All the painstaking planning leads to one frenetic action. 

As you progress through the game, you will start recruiting new members for your crew. In typical resource-building style, each will have new skills and personalities that will help certain aspects but could hinder others. I really liked this element because it gave insight into the motivation behind the heists. Like attracts like, right? 

(*Agemo: Messenger between Oriṣa and Ọlọrun, a deity honoured by the Yoruba people)

Do You Know What You’re Even Stealing, Bro?

While the primary gameplay is the heist, another element really raises the bar. Every artefact in the game is real. Nyamakop had full-time researchers who did all the background work and collated the information. The artefacts originate from all over Africa, where the African repatriation movement is already strong today. Each heist features a specific item, detailing who it culturally belongs to, where it was found, its history and its significance to the people. In the game itself, items are eventually stored in private, fictional locations to discourage bad behaviour from gamers. In real life, it’s a bit hit-and-miss to know where the items are held today. 

Items like the Ngadji (drum), sacred to the Pokomo community in Kenya. In Relooted, this item is part of the “Unfinished Business” mission. Today, the drum sits in the British Museum, taken by British colonial officers over 100 years ago and now kept in storage in London. Not even on display to celebrate Pokomo culture. Seriously, WTH?

Confession: I loved this part of the game as much as the heist. In typical EG Mum style, I found myself diving down rabbit holes of research, wanting to learn more about these items and whether they were genuinely up for repatriation. It’s not an easy read; many of these items have simply been removed from public view, while museum execs hope people will forget about them. Cultural property is not something you simply “forget about”. Every time I learned about a new item in Relooted, I was motivated to succeed at the mission and then tell everyone about it. It has absolutely changed how I visit museums now. 

Video Game Tourism: Visit Jo’burg in the future

Prior to release, Relooted featured in a panel at PAX Aus in Melbourne last year. Relooted was one of a selection of games that demonstrated how accurate depictions of real-life locations can inspire people to travel and explore. I asked Myres how they balanced the game’s location accuracy with its futuristic setting. 

“Authenticity is fundamental to the design of the game. We specifically chose to imagine future versions of specific buildings and places in Johannesburg. The artefacts are all real, and we had full-time researchers finding them and information about them. We also had someone do a pronunciation guide on all the words related to the artefacts – that researcher reached out to people across the continent to get voice notes of them saying the words.”

The level of respect and responsibility shown by Nyamakop raises Relooted from ‘fictional storytelling’ to an inspirational adventure. Gamers can trust the research and in-game detail to dive deeper into the diverse and complex history of the African continent, as well as the turbulent disrespect shown to culture and people. 

But What About the Game?

I have not forgotten about the gameplay! However, it is essential to understand the concept and preparation to see how it guides the gameplay. 

Let’s start with visuals. The heists themselves are puzzle-platformers that use a 2D sliced view of buildings. The movement is smooth enough, though I missed a few corners due to the lighting. The side-scrolling aspect adds an intentional rush, but it also introduces vulnerability to glitches and controller syncing issues. I’m fine with admitting that, many times, it was an issue with Player, not Game; however, I felt the window of opportunity for particular strategies was too narrow. I liked the heists and puzzles, but I ended up enjoying the history and dialogue more. 

The majority of the character interaction and the artefacts are presented in 3D. I really loved the visuals on this aspect, keeping it just this side of realistic to tie in with the futuristic vibe. As a white woman in Australia, I have no sense whatsoever of fashion or representation on the African continent. I can know what I see with some communities in Australia or on social media. For that alone, I am loving the colours and aesthetics in Relooted, with a real feel of authenticity and respect. 

Sound-wise, I was impressed by the balance of energy across various scenes. There are some cuts that sound contemporary yet characteristic of music from the African continent (which, btw, can vary across countries, cultures, languages, and people). I love the rhythmic values and how this would fit across the vibe of scenes. The mix of drums with vocals added a deep human feeling, giving it grounding for the real issues at the core of the game. However, there was also a balance with futuristic electronic sounds. Something that reminded you of the game’s temporal placement. I think Relooted would be an excellent example in any music class for discussion on imagery and music. 

Gameschooling: Interactive without the Lecture

Stating the obvious: Relooted is a fantastic game for gameschooling. Straight upfront, the history and legal elements are easy to work with and open discussions about who owns/possesses history. Please, please, please: if you are including this in your gameschooling catalogue, please watch Stuff the British Stole, presented by Marc Fennel. The TV Series is on Australia’s ABC iView, which was inspired by Marc’s original podcast of the same name. 

If you want to dive into a few more educational aspects, Relooted is also a great study in logic and strategy: planning both the heist and the escape, recognising cause and effect, and countering hurdles in both preparation and real-time. It can get a little frustrating for younger players if they are caught in repeating the same approach over and over again. However, puzzle solving is a super useful skill to have, and one that is nurtured by video games in a safe environment free of real risks and dangers. 

The downside of all of this is that Relooted doesn’t fit neatly into any specific syllabus outside the African continent. Because White People. It is extraordinarily rare to find any school in Australia, the USA, the UK, or any colonised nation that would seriously consider African culture to be worth including in the school syllabus. In part because teachers are already strapped for time with the heaping pile that is already in the curriculum, but also because teaching this in the classroom would open a serious conversation about everything wrong with our bleached history books. Add Relooted to your home-learning options and enjoy playing it during the school holidays. 

Relooted: Not Game of the Year, but Definitely a Game I Replay

That subheading sums it up pretty well. Relooted is not going to be Game of the Year for me, but it is a game that I will revisit and thus keep in my library. That’s a pretty high achievement, considering some awesome games I have already resold after 3 months. Relooted has a certain … soul to the gameplay that feels like I am growing as a person when I play it. My brain appreciates the challenge with the puzzles, but my moral fibre strengthens with an understanding of why we do this. I love learning more and more about these items that would otherwise never be mentioned in my cultural circles. I wish there were more games like this; it’s kind of up there with Carmen San Diego, and fits neatly into both my game list and for my kids. 

Score: 3.5 Benin Bronzes out of 5 (because one day, they will all be home)

Relooted is currently available on Steam, Epic Games, and Xbox. The cost is around AUD$21.95 on Steam; however, the Steam Spring Sale currently has it at AUD$17.56. You can find more details on the official Relooted webpage here.

Categories: Gameschooling video games

Tagged as: Africa game reviews games gaming history platformer puzzle games review Travel video games

Evil Genius Mum

Evil Genius Mum
- Taking over the world, one blog post at a time