If you go into a coffee shop or bar these days, you could notice something surprising: an old arcade cabinet that is lit up. Or it might be a shop only for games where people are fighting over cartridges for a 90s system. Playing old video games on old consoles or arcade machines is a popular trend right now. It's not just a niche passion; companies in the area are seeing a real increase in interest, with people looking for these nostalgic experiences. The issue is, what is making this journey down memory lane happen? It turns out that it's a combination of wanting to feel better, wanting things to be easier, and wanting to interact with people in the actual world.

People constantly name The Secret History by Donna Tartt as the foundational text of dark academia—but A.S. Byatt’s masterpiece Possession was published two years earlier. Possession is the novel t…