Strange how perception works. The last time I was really amazed by graphics was with Unreal. I could admire the castle in the intro for hours.
The Doom 3 alpha was astonishing as well. But by the time it was released it felt like just another gradual advancement among all the other games.
Maybe it’s a console vs PC thing where console players would get and incredible leap with each generation whereas PC players saw all the steps to reach the next generation.