Relooted: A Video Game Reclaiming Africa’s Stolen Heritage

A new video game, Relooted, developed by South African studio Nyamakop, is offering players a unique and provocative experience: the chance to digitally reclaim African artifacts looted during the colonial era. The game taps into a growing global conversation surrounding repatriation and the ethical responsibilities of Western institutions holding culturally significant items acquired through often exploitative means.

A Digital Heist with Historical Roots

Relooted casts players as Nomali, a South African sports scientist and parkour expert, tasked with infiltrating museums and private collections across the globe to return 70 real-world objects to their rightful homes. The game isn’t simply a heist game; it’s a narrative-driven experience rooted in historical realities. Players aren’t motivated by financial gain, but by a desire to right historical wrongs and ensure the preservation of African heritage.

Real Artifacts, Real History

The artifacts players seek to recover are not fictional. They include the Asante gold mask, taken by the British army during the destruction of Kumasi, the capital of the Asante empire, and currently held in the Wallace Collection in London. Another object featured in the game is the skull of Tanzanian king Mangi Meli, seized by German colonial forces after his execution in 1900. The Guardian reports that the game’s creators meticulously researched these objects, even including pronunciation guides to ensure authenticity.

A Response to a Slow Process

The game’s premise is set in a near-future where the Transatlantic Returns Treaty, designed to facilitate the return of stolen artifacts, is faltering. This prompts a proactive response from those most affected. Nyamakop’s chief executive, Ben Myres, explained that real-life repatriation is “enormously complicated and it’s been ongoing for decades, in some cases even a century or more.” He added that Relooted aims to grant people a “hopeful, utopian feeling… of what it’s going to feel like when all these artefacts finally come home.” The Guardian

An Africanfuturist Vision

Mohale Mashigo, the game’s narrative director, created an “Africanfuturist” vision of the continent at the end of the 21st century, with cities and countries that “work for people.” In contrast, Europe and the United States were intentionally made generic, referred to as “The Old World” and “The Shiny Place” respectively, to “parody the way the west represents Africa.” The Guardian

A Collaborative Creation

The game was created by a team from more than 10 African countries, and voice actors were hired from the countries of the characters that produce up Nomali’s heist crew. Sithe Ncube, the game producer, emphasized the importance of including the Kabwe Skull, a 300,000-year-old fossil discovered in Zambia, which is currently held in London’s Natural History Museum. Archyde

The Scale of Loss

Ncube noted that learning about the scale of artifact looting in Africa was an eye-opening experience. “Learning about the scale of artefact looting in Africa, up to now I still can’t wrap my head around the numbers. It seems quite ridiculous and probably underestimated as well.” Archyde A 2018 report commissioned by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, estimated that more than 90% of Africa’s material cultural heritage is held outside the continent. The Guardian