On that note, considering the original engines are similar I wonder if OpenRCT2 and OpenLoco have any big similarities in the code base as well…
Probably! From the About OpenLoco page:
The OpenLoco project started in early 2018 by the same group of people behind OpenRCT2.
I too wish the developer would respond, but I don’t think this is the catastrophe people are making it out to be. One comment seems to explain why these binaries are included: