One of the most irritating combat experiences I've had in a video game in a while. It feels and functions effectively turn-based, but without any parameters that would protect the player- charge-up times are absolutely insane, with or without the later powerup, and most of your enemies are inexplicably much, much faster than you are. I found the easiest solution to keep my health high was to make use of hiding spots, however few and far between, but one slightly wrong step (you go diagonal instead of a straight path), and almost all of the enemies can catch up to you and slaughter you. Their running speed is practically double or triple your own, and dodging isn't really a worthwhile option because your hitbox is pretty fuckin' vast. Worst of all? Limited health recovery. Yep, you take tonics and medkits, but they're all behind coins and there's a limited amount of them in the overworld. So if an enemy tanks your health, it's honestly better to just die and try again, try better, which makes for an infuriating save and load loop. Infuriating mostly because save spots are exclusively bathroom sinks, of which there are maybe 5, and they are scattered wherever, most of them behind several spawn locations of the enemies. 

The enemy design is honestly great, I won't lie, but some of them (big head bitches) are freakishly overpowered and others are have unclear hitboxes (partial transparency and they descend on your character from the foreground). 

When you're trying to get into the meat of a game's lore, having to run back and forth between bathrooms with 40 health (enough to die in one hit!) like a Taco Bell victim on their fifth bean and cheese is annoying, and quickly detracts from the ambience and experience as a whole. I expect the games I play to fight with me, but when they make me track the same path 50+ times because the enemies are too powerful and my weak scrappy ass can't take two flicks without keeling over, I'm not having fun anymore. I'm doing a chore.