Despite the bloodborne influences and heavy linearity compared to earlier entries, gameplay is as solid as ever.
Let me preface this by saying that DS3 is my favorite Dark Souls game, and I've been playing these games since the first Dark Souls released in 2011. What I'm about to say will make it seem like I'm disappointed with it when that is not the case.
While I agree that the gameplay is solid, it feels like a compromise that left people unhappy. People who prefer Bloodborne think that DS3 is too slow and clunky despite being sped up to try to appeal to them, and Dark Souls people think that it's too much like Bloodborne. They tried to appeal to both crowds and wound up disappointing some people from each side because of it.
Now, obviously I'm generalizing both crowds and I know there are are a lot of people in each camp who don't feel this way, but based on the the vocal portions of the two groups, these seems to be the consensuses they have. Personally I think Bloodborne is the best game From has released in the last ten years, but I still greatly enjoy all the Souls games.