Library of Ruina

About

Library of Ruina is a turn-based strategy RPG where battles between visitors and library guardians determine who gets to leave with a book, and who becomes one. You play as Roland, a man trapped in a shifting library ruled by Angela, a librarian with a twisted plan to build the perfect book. Every visitor receives an invitation to fight or flee. Combatants clash in grid-based battles using unique skills and equipment. Winners claim books with special abilities. Losers are absorbed into the library’s growing collection. The library itself evolves as new rooms and enemies appear, forcing players to adapt strategies between encounters. The game mixes deep resource management with high-stakes combat. Each battle reshapes the story and Angela’s goals as she experiments with new recruits. With a 90% critic score on Metacritic, players praise its intricate systems and dark narrative. The hand-drawn art style and synth soundtrack create a distinct atmosphere. Available on PlayStation 4, PC, Xbox One, and Switch since August 2021.

Storyline

Roland, a low-grade Fixer from a location known only as the City, one day finds himself transported into the foyer of the titular Library, a mysterious location filled with books on any subject one could think of. He soon meets the Head Librarian Angela, and after a brief scuffle, she decides to spare him and recruits him to be her guide on the outside world. Angela has a strange way of going about it though, as she sends out calling cards called Invitations to ask people to come to the Library and gives them a choice in whether they accept or decline. If the guests accept, they must survive mortal combat against the Librarians that guard the building; if they win, they can take any book they want. If they lose, they will become a book themselves. All of this is in service to Angela's goal — gaining the one "perfect" book that can make her into a human.