I was actually being facetious. Maybe it seems like a throwback or whatever now, but back when DNF finally released, the "tiny player, big world" idea was rather played out. Duke Burger felt very dated and out-of-place in a game where you're supposed to be this big macho badass because suddenly you can get stomped on or crushed by small kitchen objects. The level itself is a maze of almost entirely platform jumping puzzles and totally overstays its welcome. But I guess it looks kinda cool and does sort of break the monotony of a bad game.

Other games (and especially player-made maps) in the late 90's did it much better. I especially remember custom levels for its predecessor, Duke Nukem 3D, that had a lot of fun with the shrunken player concept. HL and Quake too like you mention. Folks here also said de_rats in Counter Strike which might've been the pinnacle.