A new heist game with a powerful premise is set to arrive next month. Relooted, an Africanfuturist action game from independent South African studio Nyamakop, launches on February 10 for PC and Xbox consoles. The game follows a ragtag crew from Johannesburg on a mission to liberate real-life African artifacts from a series of fictionalized Western museums. This setup turns the traditional heist genre into a poignant commentary on cultural reclamation. In terms of gameplay, Relooted is a 2.5D side-scrolling action platformer that blends stealth and puzzle mechanics. Success requires careful planning before each mission. Players must strategically position crew members and meticulously plot both the infiltration and the escape route. The tension escalates once the target artifact is secured, triggering an alarm and starting a frantic countdown to get out undetected. The development studio, Nyamakop, has a notable history. Their previous game, the platformer Semblance, broke ground as the first South African-developed intellectual property to launch on a Nintendo console when it released on the Switch in 2018. The team has spoken openly about the challenges faced by indie developers based in sub-Saharan Africa, including the need for extensive international travel to connect with platform holders and gain visibility in the absence of major local industry events. Relooted represents a significant step in both its narrative ambition and its place in the growing landscape of African game development. As of now, a release for Nintendo Switch or its anticipated successor is not announced, with the title arriving on PC and Xbox platforms this February.
