Nostalgia
A wistful, often bittersweet longing for the past.
Context
Nostalgia can gather around people, places, objects, music, games, or an earlier stage of life. The feeling combines affection for what is remembered with awareness that time has passed.
In my writing about liminal spaces, nostalgia helps explain why an empty school, an old mall, or a familiar game soundtrack can feel emotionally charged. Anemoia names a related longing for a time someone never personally experienced.