If you try reading those patch notes they'll tell you exactly what kinds of modern hardware some of these changes are targeted at:

• Steam Deck optimizations
• Improved controller support
• Default gamma reduced since you're probably not playing on a CRT anymore, and resolution no longer defaults to 640x480
• Ultrawide FOV support for ultrawide monitors
• Lowest quality settings removed since no one is running hardware that weak anymore
• Software renderer fixed on hardware that doesn't support 16-bit color