True, the combat is hard. Watching the gameplay video might help a bit. There's a certain style you have to adopt in order to keep the enemies stunned to avoid damage. It's a lot about keeping the right distance between you and the enemy. Agree about the free aim for the ranged attack though. I plan to change it so that you aim with your mouse instead. For now I'd just primarily use the melee :)
Thanks for playing, I'm glad you liked the art style!