We used init functions at my last job and got to enjoy a lot of the other benefits of C++. Lambdas, templates, std::variant, the STL, the list goes on.
Not wanting to use feature X of C++ doesn’t make it a shittier C.
The absolute contempt people would show others for suggesting the use of Blender over Maya was astounding. I hear it’s much better now. When I was in the industry in 2013-2015 it was very amusing to hear someone in the same breath talk about how much they hated Maya but how silly and *unprofessional* Blender was.