Er...okay. Though if you didn't think that was the case with Axiom Verge then I'm a little confused as to why you brought it up here....There are certain devs that rely heavily on the "retro" look when in reality they are not talented enough to be able to do 3D game engines. I wasn't suggesting that was the case in this specific game or Fez for example and, but just in the general 2D is way easier than 3D it's the whole reason 1 person can make a "retro" game but there are cases like Dust an elysian tale where it was also 1 guy but he made the graphics and animations gorgeous.
I still maintain that talent and effort doesn't even remotely factor into this discussion. You seem to personally dislike retro art styles, and that's fine, but that's just a subjective preference. And something being more modern in its visual style doesn't automatically make it better to everyone. Like I loved Dust as a game and how it looked, but Axiom Verge's visuals are just as effective and interesting to me, if not more so.