That was pretty fun. Not being able to kill enemies standing right next to you was not so fun and there was a small bug where I would take damage immediately after respawn, without enemies on any side of passage.
If it is a design decision to only hit enemies with the sword if they are at the right distance from the player, maybe adding a kick or something else to attack on a very short range would satisfy the tell the goblins to GTFO when they are mercilessly bashing me while stepping on my shoes.