Honestly, as someone who was all for a new contender in the rpg crawl/slog category, PF 1.0 certainly seemed like D&D 3.75. (and it didn't hurt that a number of OGs had left D&D to help launch it.)

Apparently, many felt that it was better at D&D than even D&D at the time, though I've since become an indifferent fan of it at best.

Same slog, same crunch, same vast array of "options" without much in the way of lowering the myriad barriers to entry, etc. Meh.

Good thing now there's Daggerheart, Blades in the Dark, Powered by the Apocalypse, Worlds/Stars Without Number, et al! 🤩🤘🏼