God of War has always been cinematic, the story is almost nonexistent, it's almost entirely character driven. The gameplay is shallow how and freedom compared to what? Be specific, instead of saying nothing.
Limited options with more depth to them isn't a bad thing, the Leviathan Axe is as good as any weapon in other action titles and the other weapons are good too, with plenty of option, as is the Boy.
The bosses are lacking though.
I mean, compare that to Devil May Cry 5. You have numerous capacity for variation with Nero's Devil Breakers, Dante's various styles which can be switched on the fly, and V - and all three of them are inherently distinct from another. God of War 3 has five weapons that play more distinctly than anything in the newer title. In the new one, you have your axe, and the Blades of Chaos later in the game; and between the zoomed in camera and the enemy types seeming like they want to play more like a Souls title than character action games, it just doesn't feel as tight.