I actually just finished the 2018 game and am of the mind that his character didnt really change THAT much, maybe towards the end arguably.
I quite like the rebooted series, but I would like the power level turned up a bit. It's all well and good having the gritty one on one combat for major creatures, but also I want to be able to just tear through minor enemies rather than things getting complicated when there's more than 2 of them.