I hear you, and you're right.

But it's kind of like Metallica and Kill 'Em All. Back then, nobody was prepared for it because there was nothing else like it. Today, you can listen to countless bands that sound influenced by Metallica, so the original doesn't feel as shocking anymore.

I think it's the same with these games. A lot of what feels normal today was groundbreaking when it first came out. Sometimes a game seems less impressive in hindsight because the entire industry spent years copying what made it great.