Depends. Graphically and world-size, definitely not! But I think that most games these days, at least AAA ones, are the equivalent of Michael Bay movies, flashy, but shallow as hell, most of the times way too hand-holdy, even if they're as easy as breathing.

I think that alot of older 90s and early 2000s games have alot more soul put into them. You can still find that today, but the gems are buried into so much shit in the indie scene, that it puts too many people off.

Yes, some stuff was worse, but I think that, as you say, is that games that were talked about in the press were actually good, whereas today, they're actually some social justice propaganda, or a glorified gambling den.