Have the review queues changed or have I messed up my settings somehow?
If they have changed it's not an improvement.
Yes, the company is working on Visual design changes to the review queues since a few weeks. That post has been featured in the sidebar widget on the homepage
which is one way to keep track of (upcoming) changes to the network. They welcome constructive feedback in the form of answers/comments, and many community members have already done so. Please have a look, perhaps your concerns have already been addressed.