People who believe that life's problems can be solved through intelligence and effort are often attracted to crime fiction, which centers around the logical solution of various problems. People who believe along with Shakespeare that there are more things on heaven and earth than we dream, are attracted to science fiction of various kinds. People who believe that a good relationship between a man and a woman can be the core of life are attracted to romances. People who believe that absolute evil lurks just beneath the surface of the ordinary are attracted to horror. And so on.
Existentialists escape into their fictional world.
We escape into ours. Some things are worth escaping from. Despair is definitely one of them. So much for escapism. The concept of formula has an interesting history as first a literary device and then a literary putdown.