The God of War (2018) is very different from the original in several ways. Whether this makes it better or not is a matter of opinion. One way in which it is very different is that it is based on Norse mythology instead of Greek mythology. A second way is that you can still rush around and run a lot. But, if you want to just sit in the canoe and listen to stories by the decapitated head on your belt, you can do that too.
Also, God of War takes much longer to finish than previous games because there is so much more to explore and to do.