Feb 15, 2026
3 min read
Developer Nyamakop has released Relooted, an anti-colonial heist game for Xbox and PC.
Colonialism is not simply the occupation of a country.It is a project of massive violence, including the complete obliteration and widespread theft of some of the world's most important cultural artifacts.Even today, colonial countries take pride in stolen artefacts, acting as peacock hunters in the form of tourism.See, for example, the preservation of the Egyptian Rosetta Stone, the so-called Benin Bronze, and the Ethiopian Makdala Collection in the British Museum.Colonial countries tried to restore their stolen culture.
Recovering stolen artifacts becomes a thrilling adventure in Relooted.
This anti-colonialist action game explores the fantasy of moral theft.
The anti-colonial fighting game explores the fantasy of moral theft.
But what happens when polite requests and the mediation process are not only not enough, but not worth the ongoing crime?That's where the theory of ethical looting comes in - and no game has done it better than Relooted.
Developed by South African studio Nyamakop, Relooted focuses on a Johannesburg-based group of lovable, albeit unprofessional, thieves from various African countries.They have one goal: To return from the colonial nations what was stolen from Africa.Playing as leading lady Nomali, a world-class parkour athlete, you help start this fake group inspired by her grandmother, a history professor.It's a platformer The game is a 2.5D heist-'em-up from Africa (rather than Afrofuturist), sending Nomal and her team across the Global North, breaking into museums, private collections and banks to recover legendary but stolen artifacts.
After the sale, the group will try to keep them in the Museum of Black Civilizations in Senegal.What surprised me was that the museum, like any exhibition, was very real.
During mission briefings in your Batcave-like base, you'll get a real short history lesson on the artifact and, through it, Africa's colonial past.For example, did you know that the modern Republic of Benin, a country in West Africa, and the historic and powerful Kingdom of Benin (which peaked in the 15th century), now located in Nigeria, have different legendary masks?Plundered by the colonists and not returned, they were placed in the British Museum, among others.
In the fictional world of Relooted, this is where Nomali and her crew come in. If countries that benefit from theft and stolen works won't return old things, then Nomali and her gang.will just return them.They are good thieves;the group makes no profit and will only steal what has already been stolen.As a lawyer, I'm skeptical, because in most legal systems, theft of your property is still theft - for example, you can't go into a thief's house to find your phone.But as someone whose ancestors were British colonials in India before moving to British-occupied South Africa, this feels truly satisfying and virtuous to me.
Each mission has you searching the level for robot guards, exits, and other artifacts.You discuss these with your team, each bringing different skills to the table, which is itself a mechanic of the game: your brother is a locksmith who can force open doors or safes, while another team member is a professional acrobat who can use Batman-like skills to reach impossible areas.After the reconnaissance, Nomali's mission is to retrieve the artifacts.
However, you also need to secure your exit.This is the most interesting part to me because it requires you to plan your escape route before setting off the alarm.After Nomali captures the object, you must execute the perfect route without getting caught by the chasing drones.You can also plan to steal multiple artifacts, which means you have to carefully decide which item to steal first;the one closest to the entrance may not actually be the best first option because it's awkwardly placed.Careful planning and route running, placing teammates in the right spots all add up to a clockwork heist that would make Arsene Lupin proud.
The game is a brain platformer with a satisfying mix of brain and twist reactions.You'll experience the satisfaction of a quick chase, as well as the satisfaction of coordinated actions by your teammates when a well-thought-out exit plan is executed correctly and all the artifacts are available.
The levels are different, sometimes not using the names as we know them now.For example, the US is known as "The Shining Place", described as a combination of Las Vegas and New York, with a more cyberpunk aesthetic.Another is a European house, the home of "The Collector", described with dark and rainy streets and gruesome paintings covering the cold stone walls.Levels between five are usually completed in 10 minutes, unless you repeat them due to poor planning or execution.
Finally, despite the larger story, repetition occurs.There's variety in dealing with 2D levels and limited mechanics, but the game doesn't like it.The graphics are very dated; even when it attempts to imitate a Pixar film or other modern animation work, the characters' faces are flat and the dialogue animations look stiff and simplistic.
However, the parkour animations are different, the colors are vibrant and the world is different.Nomali is good to handle, especially when you get into the "flow" of the parkour theme.Futuristic African theme tunes as well as 80's James Bond movies about robber barons.
Relooted is very special to me as a South African.Not only was it produced by South Africans, but it is centered on a pan-African group, working together for a common goal of returning what was stolen by the colonial occupiers.Ugandan researcher, Joseph Saronkuma, cites a calculation that puts the loss Africa suffered during colonization between 1960-2010 at an estimated sum of 152 billion dollars.To think where my country and my continent would be today if it were not for the massive theft and exploitation still makes me angry.Even today, African citizens still have to visit the former colonized countries to see their history.
Relooted serves as a beautiful and righteous outlet for the moral outrage at the injustice, unfair labor and horrors that this continent is experiencing, doing double duty as a history lesson and entertaining heist platformer.We hope that more people will discover how bloody and unjust the history of Africa really is - and how beautiful, beautiful and inspiring our continent and its people are.
Related is now available on Xbox and PC.
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