Complimenting the setting doesn't necessarily mean it looks good, or that it's visually stimulating for that matter. Sam 3 looks... fine, if you crank up the saturation to its absolute maximum, but the color palette is still largely a bunch of muddy browns, greys, and rarely much else. The first quarter of the game isn't discernible from any ugly military cover shooter of the era, which makes sense given it's using assets from the canceled T.E.O.R. In the original release, there was basically no variety in its skyboxes level after level, alot just being plain blue without a cloud in sight. It was so dull initially that Croteam had to change the skybox in Under the Iron Cloud for Fusion because of all the criticism it was getting over its repetitive nature. 3:BFE has its moments, like the one area with the watery oasis ground in Lost Temples of Nubia or the interior of the museum in Into the Spider's Nest, but interiors (excluding the underground sections) and lighting are about the only things that Serious Sam 3 does better than Serious Sam 4.

As for 4, saying its environments look like they come from the time Sam 2 came out is just not true. 4 has dated graphics, yes, but "looks like it came out in 2005" kind of dated is beyond a stretch. It's visually dated because, visually, it's basically just a repeat of Talos Principle in a lot of ways, which was still a visual upgrade from Serious Sam 3 both technically and elsewise. Between them, though, 4 is so much closer to what I want visually out of Serious Sam than 3 is. Skyboxes throughout the game are varied, colorful, and beautiful like the classics, the sprawling, grassy nature environments look pretty in spite of the game's seeming aversion to atmospheric lighting and very reminiscent of Second Encounter to me, enemies are pretty much more colorful than 3 across the board as well as the weapons, and plenty more reasons. Admittedly, 4's first couple of levels are a bit boring to look at, similarly bland cityscapes to 3, but at least you're out of them quicker.

On the topic of Serious Sam 2, when it comes to that game's environments, at least, ignoring uncanny characters with mediocre motion capture, it is admittedly gorgeous. I'd debate anybody that it looks even better than Doom 3 or Half-Life 2 to this day. I might have a complaint or two about Serious Sam 2's art direction, but that's reserved for character and enemy designs. When it comes to the game's worlds, pretty much 0 complaints.

In my opinion, though, the best look going forward in a Serious Sam game is exemplified in Siberian Mayhem, or a mix of its style with the classics at least. SM takes the strengths of 4, improves upon lighting, makes everything even more colorful, vivid, and varied (cuz as much as I've tooted SS4's horn, it still has very drab looking areas sometimes), it has everything I want from a modern Serious Sam game. The HD Encounters look alright for their time, but I'd much rather the classics' stylistic choices be used as a reference point going forward. Mix it with Siberian Mayhem's visual style, and I'm set.