From what I can see the problem is partly God of War 3. When you conclude a franchises storyline, it can be tedious to go back to a story you know how will end. Personally I think the story looked very good, but it wasn't needed after God of War 3. Where I think the dissatisfaction is coming from. People just arn't excited for this story like they were for the last game.
In terms of combat, it seems to play like the previous games... But the big problem seems to be weapon variety. You have only temporary weapons excluding the Blades of Chaos. That can be unsatisfying for fans who are looking for upgradable weapons, and deeper interplay with weapon switching on the fly.
I can understand the criticisms. Personally I'm finally glad reviewers are being critical. God of War 3 had its fair share of problems, these developers need good feedback, you can't just keep telling them everything they do is gold, constructive criticism is healthy for the developers, publishers and the industry.
I've played the demo and the beta, it seems like an 8+ game; its good the developers are getting this feedback now, it gives them better input for their PS4 game. Which hopefully won't be God of War 4, but something else.
