From Ancient Egypt to Magical Archives: Representations of Libraries Across Genres and Time in Video Games

Congratulations to Lisa O'Leary from UCCLibrary, whose blog post received a special mention in the A&SL Blog Post Competition 2026. 

The competition invited library staff and LIS students based in Ireland to submit a blog post exploring how library staff, libraries and information work as portrayed across film, television, literature, art, social media, gaming, news media or other cultural formats.

Libraries have a long history of representation within popular culture, but within video games, as interactive spaces, they offer a unique perspective. When included in video games, libraries are locations of exploration, problem-solving, storytelling, or even danger. But more than that, they create a memorable space that demonstrates the enduring cultural significance of libraries and information access.

  
Libraries appear in numerous video games across many genres, establishing the versatility of libraries as meaningful game spaces. From action role playing games (Assassin’s Creed), where libraries contain quests, to interactive puzzle games (The Séance of Blake Manor). From survival-horror titles (Resident Evil) that transform libraries into tense and unsettling environments, to science-fiction games (Horizon Zero Dawn), and even cosy games (Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library!). These various depictions across genres allow virtual library spaces to remain compelling settings defined by more than real-world bricks and mortar. As Pomerantz and Marchionini (2007, p.506) assert, “Place ...is more than physical space” and this ‘place’ is “equally important in both physical and digital libraries,” (2007, p.528).
 
Within video games, libraries can exist across different periods of time, emphasising the long-standing cultural value of libraries. In Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Ubisoft, 2017), players explore ancient Egypt and can step inside the Library of Alexandria, one of history’s most significant libraries. By bringing this space to life, the game reinforces a library’s core purpose of collecting, preserving, and sharing knowledge across time, even as, in recent years, libraries have evolved significantly. This contemporary adaptation to meet all users’ needs with traditional and newer ways of learning, is highlighted by Sayekti et al. (2021, p.9), Clark (2015, p.152), and Houston (2015, p.84). Yet, the depiction within this game shows that ‘library as place’ is still highly relevant. 
 

Image 1 credit: A screenshot of the Library of Alexandria in Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Origins.

Libraries also serve as important narrative locations in video games. In The Séance of Blake Manor (Raw Fury, 2025), set in 1890s Ireland, the library plays a pivotal role. Players are required to actively engage with documents and information sources to progress and solve the game's central mystery. Thus, as a recently released game it cements libraries as places that support research and discovery regardless of time. Which aligns with Garnar and Tonyan’s (2021, p.6) observation that, despite changes in information access, libraries continue to draw users into the space.
 
A spin on library representation can be found in the remake of Resident Evil 2 (Capcom, 2019), set in 1990s USA. From the outside, the game's library appears to embody the traditional characteristics of a library: shelves of books, elegant surroundings, and a structured study environment. However, these expectations are quickly subverted. The library becomes a dangerous space where bookshelves conceal enemies, and compact shelving units form part of a tense puzzle. The library no longer functions as a safe place of learning but instead becomes an environment of anxiety and survival. This portrayal is altered in the sequel game Resident Evil Requiem (Capcom, 2026), which revisits the same location nearly thirty years later. The library has fallen into ruin like the city around it, with damaged shelving, scattered and decaying books, and a collapsed roof. Despite this, the emotional resonance of the location remains as it still carries traces of its past. This reflects observations that library spaces and environments have a profound emotional impact on users (Watson, 2013, slide 26).
  

Image 2 credit: Side-by-side screenshots of the RPD library in Capcom’s Resident Evil 2 (2019), and Resident Evil Requiem.

Another aspect of libraries in video games is the non-traditional library, i.e. databases or archives. In Horizon Zero Dawn (Sony Interactive Entertainment, 2017), set a thousand years in the future, the absence of a library-like institution and the loss of the knowledge bank becomes a prominent theme. The destruction of APOLLO, humanity’s vast knowledge archive, has devastating consequences for future generations who have lost the history, science, and cultural memory of the past. This narrative highlights the importance of access to information, and the consequences of controlling or restricting that access. Something that is relevant in the present day.  

Image 3 credit: A screenshot of Apollo’s logo in Guerrilla Games’ Horizon Zero Dawn.

Polar opposite in genre is Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library! (ArtRising, 2016), a cosy game focused entirely on organising a magical library. The relaxing gameplay centres on letting players engage directly with a core element of library work – sorting, tidying, and maintaining collections. As noted earlier, libraries can influence users on an emotional level, and this calming gameplay helps create positive associations. Thus, enabling the library to be perceived as a space shaped by personal experiences, emotions, and connections, rather than simply housing books. This aligns with Kim (2016, p.509) and Waxman et al. (2007, p.430) who both found that libraries are also places for socialising, relaxation and reflection.

Although only a small selection of games and genres featuring libraries is discussed here, these examples illustrate the unique ability of libraries in video games to support both interactive gameplay and storytelling. These libraries often hold key objects and hidden collectibles, reward exploration, and support progression through puzzles. Simultaneously, they encourage players to engage with the game world, providing insights into lore, the game’s history and its characters. As Fern’s (n.d.) article notes, the successful combination of interaction, learning, and flexibility enables libraries as a location to persist within the video game medium regardless of genre.

Ultimately, the representation of libraries in video games reflects their enduring significance within popular culture. Whether located in ancient Egypt, nineteenth-century Ireland, a zombie-infested police station, a post-apocalyptic future, or a magical archive, libraries continue to serve as important spaces for information access, exploration, and experience. Their adaptability across genres highlights the cultural importance of knowledge and the ongoing relevance of librarianship and information work. Yet at their core, both real and virtual libraries remain places where people seek knowledge, meaning, and connection.

  

Acknowledgements:

I acknowledge the use of Microsoft 365 Copilot to refine my original text and to correct spelling and grammar.

References:
Assassin's Creed Origins. 2017. PS5 [Game]. Ubisoft: Montreal. URL: https://www.ubisoft.com/en-gb/game/assassins-creed/origins
Clark, J. C. (2015). Library as Place: What Students Value in a Performing Arts Library. Music Reference Services Quarterly, 18(3–4), 139–156. https://doi.org/10.1080/10588167.2015.1093882
Fern, S. (n.d.). The library level: Archives in videogames. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 16 June 2026, from https://www.nls.uk/collections/stories/life-in-the-library/archives-in-videogames/
Garnar, M., & Tonyan, J. (2021). Library as place: Understanding contradicting user expectations. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 47(5), 102391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2021.102391
Horizon Zero Dawn. 2017. PS4 [Game]. Sony Interactive Entertainment: Amsterdam. URL: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/horizon-zero-dawn/
Houston, A. M. (2015). Revisiting Library as Place: Balancing Space Planning Priorities by Focusing on Core Purpose. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 55(2), 84–86.
Kim, J.-A. (2016). Dimensions of User Perception of Academic Library as Place. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 42(5), 509–514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2016.06.013
Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library!. 2026. PC [Game]. ArtRising: Japan. URL: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4197610/Librarian_Tidy_Up_the_Arcane_Library/
Pomerantz, J., & Marchionini, G. (2007). The digital library as place. Journal of Documentation, 63(4), 505–533. https://doi.org/10.1108/00220410710758995
Resident Evil 2. 2019. PS5 [Game]. Capcom: Japan. URL: https://www.residentevil.com/2/uk/
Resident Evil Requiem. 2026. PS5 [Game]. Capcom: Japan. URL: https://www.residentevil.com/requiem/en-us/
Sayekti, R., Karim, A., Achiriah, Aditya, M., Purwaningtyas, F., Syam, A. M., & Nur’aini. (2021). When the ‘Library as place’ Matters: A Case Study of an Academic Library. Library Philosophy and Practice, 1–18.
The Séance of Blake Manor. 2025. PC [Game]. Raw Fury: Stockholm. URL: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1395520/The_Sance_of_Blake_Manor/