I, as a game developer, also ask of a tiny bit of fair play amongst ourselves.
The game isn't fun to play only because they slapped BOTW + pokemon copycats with guns. So, why did they decide to go so much on your face when they could have literally tweaked certain elements to keep them similar but not identical?
People got absolutely bananas with Genshin Impact because of the similarities in style while the core loop and business model being more different.
To top it off, the developers of PalWorld are literal neighbours of Nintendo (both from Kyoto). So this does have to be a very open and direct diss at Nintendo as whole.
The gameplay is Zelda BOTW glued together to Pokemon (even the initial items and the intro scene is obscenely identical).
Most "pals" are lifted from Pokemon, as I was able to say things like "Pokemon X but green", "Pokemon Y", etc.
Ignorance is not a justification for misconduct.
The game seems like a collage of stolen bits rather than a nice blend of games (which is in what the gaming industry excels).