I don't like rust.

I don't like building a full building inch by inch. I don't like having to worry about eating too. I can't speak to Palworld, but I don't like rust's empty world, devoid of NPC's short of playing it coop with a lib. I don't like literally every tiny thing having to be crafted, especially with it having its own little crafting subsystems like crafting firewood for fuel for a furnace which crafts materials that are used in another crafted device to craft something else. I also despise crafting and working farms.

One of the few mercies this game offers is Pals to pick up the pace.

I'm going to give it a chance but I'm already going in expecting to be disappointed.

One simple improvement would be being able to just plop down full buildings, but I don't believe that's possible at all.