I think the technical progress has actually made games worse because devs have no limitations anymore and hence they can afford to be lazier and less creative. For example I was playing Hitman 2016 and the mission levels were so uninteresting and samey, you are given a huge map and building where you have to walk hundreds of meters but there is no wonder and no sense of exploration and no intrigue because what you see is what you get, na mean? Whereas in the older Hitman games the levels were divided into hubs, you never knew what was ahead of you. Another modern game that I play Dirt4 has procedurally generated tracks and the driving physics and handling is so boring and unexciting, no wonder Dirt2 multiplayer is still very active, people want to have fun, not be put to sleep.
Deus Ex (2000) - a game that pushes the boundaries of what the video game medium is capable of to a degree unmatched to this very day.
