Emulators run great. RetroArch famously powers RetroPie, which is a Linux-based all-in-one emulation kiosk OS for Raspberry Pis (but retroarch runs great on x86 as well)

Linux Mint and PopOS are two great entry-level distros that get our of your way and let you just use your computer (but you can do all the nerd stuff under the hood if you do choose, nothing locked down).