I must be doing something wrong. I always encounter 3+ enemies, each of which deals more damage than my character/the dog does. This always leads to me dying in the first encounter, no matter whether I just attack or use tricks. Am I missing something important?

I first tried on 100% difficulty, then turned it all the way down to 25% and still died in the first fight. I've always started the game by picking up spot and then going to fight an alien (tried the orange and the green path).

Really great RPG,  I like the design of aliens, and combat system reminded me of Pokemon battles, however at first it was a bit confusing, maybe make the glow like red so it's more clear which enemy you want to attack. Other than that it's such an awesome game. Edit:the music is litterally perfect