Yes the lighting is a bit bright, but that can be tuned.
See my post about the Grand Canyon, the sun shadows are accurate so the lighting engine is doing well. The fact that the shadows follow a real life web cam means that Asobo can tune the lighting levels.
I’ve also noticed that trees in the Northern hemisphere are a bit too green considering its late November and many leaves have turned brown and fallen.
But its early days and they have made a great start:
So I don’t think the scenery is worse overall.